David Neven

Supermarkets and Consumers in Africa: The Case of Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract Supermarkets in urban Kenya have risen from a tiny niche a half decade ago to a fifth of food retail, spreading well beyond the richer consumers to derive more than a third of their sales and half of their customers from low income and poor consumers. This paper explores the patterns and determinants of purchases of the overall food category versus fresh fruits and vegetables, over Nairobi consumer income strata, for purchases from supermarkets versus traditional retailers. Implications are drawn for development programs to help farmers be strategically positioned for change in the food markets facing them.

The rapid rise of kenyan supermarkets: Impacts on the fruit and vegetable supply system

There has been extremely rapid transformation of the food retail sector in developing regions in the past 5 to10 years, accompanied by a further consolidation and multi-nationalization of the supermarket sector itself. This organizational change, accompanied by intense competition, has driven changes in the organization of procurement systems of supermarket chains, toward centralized and regionalized systems, use of specialized/dedicated wholesalers and preferred supplier systems, and demanding, private quality standards. These changes in the system have in turn determined the very recent rise of the use of contracts between supermarkets and agrifood producers in these regions to cover provision of services and provision for risk management, as well as requirements for demanding quality and safety attributes, which require substantial investment in technological change and ‘upgrading’ at the producer level. This paper presents a brief discussion of these trends, followed by a conceptual framework to explain this phenomenon, illustrated with empirical evidence drawn mainly from Latin America.Foreword * Part I:Transformation of Food Systems and the Small Farmer:Key Concepts * Small Farms and the Transformation of Food Systems: An Overview * The Rapid Rise of Supermarkets in Developing Countries: Induced Organizational, Institutional and Technological Change in Agri-Food Systems * Food Policy in the Era of Supermarkets:What s Different? * The Food Processing Industry, Globalization and Developing Countries * Forces of Change Affecting African Food Markets: Implications for Public Policy * Part II: The Changing Structure of Food Systems * The Changing Nature and Structure of Agri-Food Systems in Developing Countries: Beyond the Farm Gate * The Impact of Globalization and Vertical Integration in Agri-Food Processing on Local Suppliers: Evidence from the Polish Dairy Sector * The Role of Santiago Wholesale Markets in Supporting Small Farmers and Poor Consumers * The Rapid Rise of Kenyan Supermarkets: Impacts on the Fruit and Vegetable Supply System * Linkages Between Smallholder Farmers and Supermarkets: Lessons from Zambia * Part III: Implications of Food Systems Transformation for Smallholder Farmers * Overview of Case Studies Assessing Impacts of Food Systems Transformation on Smallholder Farmers * The Transition from Maize Production Systems to High-value Agriculture in Kenya * Linking Small Farmers in Bhutan with Markets:The Importance of Road Access * Marketing Channels and their Implications for Smallholder Farmers in India * Marketing China s Fruit: Are Small, Poor Farmers being Excluded from the Supply Chain? * Supermarkets and Small Farmers:The Case of Fresh Vegetables in Honduras * Impact of International Food Safety Standards on Smallholders: Evidence from Three Cases * Index