Chapter

Policies, Strategies
and Programmes
3

3.1 Urban FSD policies
An urban food supply and distribution (FSD)
policy is a set of goals, objectives, strategies
and programmes spanning regional,
metropolitan, urban and local areas. It is set
within a precise timeframe and is formulated in
close collaboration with all concerned
stakeholders. It guides city and local authorities
(CLAs) in the use of resources under their
control and through private sector investment,
to improve access by urban households to
stable supplies of good quality food, through
efficient, hygienic, healthy and
environmentally sound food supply and
distribution systems (FSDSs).
This chapter suggests a conceptual framework
for the design of the components of:
1. policy goals and objectives;
2. strategies;
3. development programmes;
4. institutional responsibility.
3.1.1 Key areas of policy concern
An urban FSD policy usually focuses on three
key areas detailed in Figure 3.1.
Other aspects of policy concern: urbanization,
urban poverty and food security; urban food
demand, consumption patterns and purchasing
habits including nutritional aspects; FSD-
related employment and gender issues; market
and nutritional information to consumers; role
of central and local government institutions
and private sector organizations in food supply
and distribution systems (FSDSs); resource
planning and management in urban and
periurban areas; institution strengthening.
41
Chapter 3: Policies, Strategies and Programmes
3.1.2 Policy goals
A policy goal is a broad statement of intent
providing guidance for action. An urban FSD
policy has three major goals (see Figure 3.2).
3.1.3 Complementarity between policies
A well-functioning FSDS facilitates access to
food. Alone it does not guarantee that those
without the means to buy food can do so.
Public action is required to generate incomes
through employment creation, food subsidies,
food stamps, among other remedies. Nutrition,
hygiene and health education is also important
for the most vulnerable consumers. Therefore
an urban FSD policy supports and is supported
by other policies and programmes (see Figure
3.3).
3.1.4 Policy objectives
Policy objectives identify what is needed to
achieve policy goals. Objectives are usually
linked to one or more operational units and are
typically short term, tied to annual budgets.
They need to be amended as institutions
respond to changes in resources and
environment.
When designing urban FSD policies, it is
necessary to ensure that:
• policy goals are clear, credible and reflect the
vision of citizens and policy makers;
• policy objectives are attainable, feasible,
credible, technically sound, consistent with
central government priorities and socially as
well as politically acceptable.
Policy goals and objectives need to be logically
related as indicated in A6.1.
 Figure 3.1
Three Key Areas for Concern for Urban Food Supply and Distribution Policies

Projections for urban food and water needs;

development of efficient and sustainable production

fishing
processing and storage in rural
periurban and
urban areas; infrastructure
facilities and services for
food assembly
handling
packaging and transport to
cities; efficiency
transparency and dynamism of
production and marketing systems; effectiveness of
services (information
extension
etc) to producers

processors and traders; food import logistics and
procedures; promotion of private sector
organizations and private investment; planning

development and management of slaughterhouses;
legislation and regulations

Food supply to cities

Planning
development and management of

wholesale and retail markets and food shops;
planning and organization of specific lowcost food
distribution arrangements; street food and
informal activities; modern distribution; intra
urban transport; services to urban market users;
promotion of market trader
shopkeeper and
consumer associations and organizations;
promotion of private investment in urban markets
and shops; efficiency
transparency and dynamism
of urban food distribution systems; legislation and
regulations

Urban food distribution

Studying FSDSs to Cities ...

Health
Food safety problems and contamination due to
incorrect use of fertilizers
pesticides and wastewater

lack of hygiene in food supply and distribution
activities and pollutants; legislation and regulations

Environment
Management of waste from markets and
slaughterhouses; air
water and soil pollution caused
by food supply and distribution activities; forest
42 depletion because of fuelwood use; legislation and
regulations

Health and environment

 Figure 3.2
Policy Goals

Efficient food supply and distribution systems

to achieve:
• stable supplies of lowcost food to low 43
income urban consumers;
• food production incentives through
equitable marketing opportunities for
farmers

Chapter 3: Policies, Strategies and Programmes

Economic goal

Minimize food insecurity in poor urban households to

achieve:
• improved equity from lower food prices;
• reduced social disruption
because supplies and
prices are more stable;
• increased employment and income opportunities in
the food sector

Social goal

Eliminate foodrelated health problems and

minimize the negative impact of food supply and
distribution activities on the environment by
fostering:
• better hygiene conditions in the food chain;
• environmentally friendly and sustainable food
production systems;
• better located
maintained and managed food
market and processing infrastructure;
• better market and slaughterhouse waste disposal
and use;
• better attention to ecological conditions of the
city during planning

Health and environmental goal

 Figure 3.3
Some of the Policies and Programmes which
are Required to Improve Urban Food Security

Income Food Aid and

Generation Food-for-Work

Food Supply Urban Food National Food

and Distribution and Agriculture
Security Policies

Family Health and

Welfare Nutrition

Source: Argenti, 2000.

Figure 3.4
Programmes, Subprogrammes and Action Plans
Studying FSDSs to Cities ...

REGIONAL – METROPOLITAN – URBAN – LOCAL

PROGRAMMES

SUPPLY TO CITIES – URBAN DISTRIBUTION – HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

SUBPROGRAMMES
44

ACTION PLANS

Source: Argenti, 2000.

 Figure 3.5
Basic Principles for Food Supply and Distribution Strategies

Private sector
Principle 1 Right Approach associations and
organizations 45
Adopt an approach which is must be
promoted and
consultative, participatory, encouraged to
open-minded, alliance play an active
seeking and technically role in planning

Chapter 3: Policies, Strategies and Programmes

sound. decisions to
address
constraints
faced by
members.

The use of
weighing scales
Principle 2 Competition
promotes fair
practices in Promote competition and
markets.
reduce the influence of large
intermediaries.

Farmer and
Principle 3 No Fashions itinerant markets
provide low-cost
Resist fashions for food in poor
urban districts.
“modernization” or
“preserving tradition”.
Encourage developments
which lower the cost of living
and stimulate employment
growth in the city.

Market
infrastructure
Principle 4 Go Private
must be properly
maintained, Facilities and services that can
managed and
be run as businesses are best
developed to
accomodate left to the private sector.
increasing food
quantities
coming to cities.
 3.1.5 Conflicts between policies Tax and tariffs

Conflicts may arise between macro-economic
policies and specific FSD policies. It will be
necessary to assess the impact of national
policies on various areas, among which:
Legislative and regulatory
• In what ways do current food legislation and
regulations hinder the development of food
supply and distribution systems? How do
existing statutes discriminate against small
food producers, processors, traders,
shopkeepers and street food vendors?
• Are there unnecessary restrictions on the use
of water for crop production which may
impede the development of urban and
periurban food production?
Do measures to control inflation and public
sector budgetary requirements obstruct private
investments in food supply and distribution?
Institution strengthening
Are prospective reductions in government
budgets likely to stifle re-training of staff
required by changes in policy orientation and
decentralization programmes?
Micro, small and medium enterprises
Will plans to make the food sector more
professional harm micro- and small-scale food
production, marketing and processing
enterprises?

Budget Structural reforms

Are budget allocations to city and local
authorities in line with increasing
responsibilities, especially for transport and
market infrastructure development?
Food trade development
Will plans to make the food sector more
professional harm micro- and small-scale food
production, marketing and processing
initiatives?
Studying FSDSs to Cities ...
• Are measures to dismantle state-run food
distribution chains likely to create private
oligopolies?
• Are incentives for promoting the
development of low-cost forms of food
distribution consistent with current strict
public fund management?
• Are there practices biased against credit
access by small food producers, processors
traders and shopkeepers?

Table 3.1
Elaboration of Strategies
Specific strategies relating to the internal factors:
Strategies relating to the external factors:
• prices, margins and costs;
• options for urban space development;
• information about markets and prices;
• options stemming from pipeline privatization and removal
• infrastructure and equipment (e.g. wholesale markets and
of state support;
46 storage areas);
• options stemming from the policy to promote private
• standards (quality) and standardization (allowing produce
investment;
to be grouped together and prices fixed without the
• options stemming from the domestic and external trade
produce being seen);
policy.
• organization of food pipelines (reduction of post-harvest
food losses) and occupations (transport and storage
techniques and computerization);
• institution strengthening to better assist private service
and infrastructure operators;
• linkage between domestic and export pipelines.
3.1.6 Proposals for policies and strategies Table 3.2
Structure of Policy
Proposals for urban FSD policies and strategies and Strategy Proposal
should be structured as indicated in Table 3.2.
1. Background and justification
(from summary of consolidated case study
3.2 FSD strategies (maximum 500 words)

2. Why an urban FSD policy is needed

Strategies describe how policy objectives and (maximum 300 words) 47
goals can be achieved.
3. Urban FSD policy goals and objectives
(maximum 300 words)
FSD strategies must be seen in the context of
policies and customs governing different 4. Urban FSD policy strategies

Chapter 3: Policies, Strategies and Programmes

(maximum 300 words)
aspects of economic and social life. Economic
life concerns structural adjustment, economic 5. Possible conflicts with other policies and strategies
liberalization and decentralization. Social life and proposals for solutions
(maximum 300 words)
encompasses religious and ethnic rules.
6. Institutions involved in urban FSD policy monitoring
and implementation
Urban FSD strategies should follow four basic
principles (see Figure 3.5 and Table 3.1). 7. Title and objectives of development programme and
of its components and their relation to policy
objectives
A particularly important strategic consideration
is the extent of public versus private
responsibility (see A4.3).

FSDS strategies may be designed maintaining

the distinction between external and internal
factors, as suggested in § 3.1. An example is
provided in A6.2.

Figure 3.6
Evolution of Urban Food
Distribution Subsystems

%
        
100
  

80
 


60 


 
40

20 Food marketing is a source of employment

  and income for the poor, particularly
0 women and youth.

%       
  

  
100
            
 
         
80

60

40

20
Transport for wholesale markets

CHANGES IN WHOLESALE SELLING PATTERS

Source: Tracey-White, 1991.

 3.3 FSD programmes
Once solutions, policies and strategies have
been agreed upon among all concerned
stakeholders, FSD development programmes
spanning regional, metropolitan, urban and
local areas (see Figure 3.4) need to be
designed.
FSD programmes are sets of coherent and
logically structured interventions and expected
results. They are set within a timeframe with
well-defined implementation tasks. Their
specific objectives are linked to the
achievement of FSD policy goals and
objectives. This occurs in the urban area in
conjunction with periurban and rural areas
from where the city gets its food supplies, or
through which the food consumed in the city
transits.
The design of FSD programmes is an iterative
process comprising the following stages:
1. design of programmes (identification of
geographic areas);
2. design of subprogrammes (identification of
main technical areas);
3. design of action plans for each
subprogramme.
Programmes, subprogrammes and action plans
should comprise clearly identified targets and
indicators (see § 3.4). Actions plans should
also include expected results, related
interventions as well as institutional
responsibilities.
Action plans focus on specific themes (e.g.:
market infrastructure, transport; services,
environment protection, institution
strengthening), arranged by specific topics.
They can be structured in terms of the time
allowed for achieving the expected results:
• immediate term (less than six months);
• short term (from six months to three years);
• medium term (from three to six years); and
• long term (over six years).

For examples see A6.3, A6.4 and A6.5.

Table 3.3
Coherence of Strategies between Programmes and Action Plans

Programme strategies
1. Dialogue between public and private sectors;
Studying FSDSs to Cities ...

2. effective interinstitutional collaboration;

3. strengthening of rural-urban relations;
4. institution strengthening to improve decisions in support of public operators;
5. improvement of existing infrastructure;
6. promotion of an appropriate macro-economic and regulatory framework for FSDS development;
7. privatization of FSDS-related activities and services.

Strategies of action plan “Urban market improvement”

• Dialogue between public and private sectors (1);
• private operator collaboration in programme preparation and implementation (1);
• low-cost measures to improve existing infrastructure funded with financial assistance from benefiting traders (5);
• private operators encouraged to take responsibility for infrastructure maintenance (7);
• privatization of market management (7).

48
Strategies of action plan “Improving rural-urban food transport”
• Dialogue between public and private sectors (1);
• effective interinstitutional collaboration (2);
• strengthening of rural-urban linkages (3);
• collaboration between private groups (traders and transporters) (1) (2);
• special low-cost measures and existing infrastructure improvement (5).

Note: The numbers in brackets refer to the relevant overall programme strategy.
3.3.1 Preparing the programme
The results of each stage should be presented
as forms. Together, these forms will constitute
the development programme document:
• form 1: the development programme (see
A6.6);
• form 2: geographic programmes (see A6.7);
• form 3: subprogrammes (see A6.7);
• form 4: action plans (see A6.8);
• form 5: action plans arranged by sets of
results (see A6.9);
• form 6: the set of results by interventions (see
A6.10);
3.3.2 Definition and verification
of objectives and strategies
The formulation of a FSDS development
programme also entails defining the objectives
of subprogrammes and action plans (see
A6.11). All such objectives must aim to
achieve one or more objectives set for the
overall development programme.
Each programme and subprogramme must be
formulated making sure that the proposed
interventions are consistent with overall policy
strategies (see Table 3.3 and 3.4).
Table 3.4
Coherence of Action Plan A “Urban Market Improvement”
Objective of specific Urban food markets are clean and functional places where traders and consumers can
subprogrammes safely meet.
Set A1:
Physical improvement
of urban markets
Objectives of results All urban market have
functional infrastructure
within six years.
3.3.3 Organization of sets of results
Sets of results for each action plan should be
gauged over time and capable of being
quantified. Sets of results for “action plan A”
are presented in A6.12. An example of this
process is shown in A6.13.
49
3.3.4 Financial implications
Calculating the financial cost of each
intervention may be not straightforward. This
Chapter 3: Policies, Strategies and Programmes
is because there may be different ways to
achieve a result (e.g. the rehabilitation of a
specific urban market), each implying different
costs. Other times, the full financial
implication of a proposal may require a
detailed analysis or a pre-feasibility study.
Whenever possible, an estimate of the financial
cost components in local and foreign
currencies should be provided.
Urban gardens provide cheap fresh food
for household consumption. But crops
may be a source of health risks.
Set A2: Set A3:
Hygiene Market
and safety management
Hygiene and safety All urban markets are
conditions in all urban efficiently managed within
markets meet official ten years.
standards within three
years.
 3.4 Coordinating and monitoring
policy implementation
The steps from constraint analysis to policy
implementation are summarized (see A6.14).
Monitoring progress in the implementation of
FSD policy and programmes is essential for
accountability to the electorate and to central
government.
FSD programmes usually need to be
implemented by several different authorities
and departments. Each implementing authority
or department should have agreed FSD policy
targets against which its performance can be
assessed (see Table 3.5 and 3.6).
A food supply and distribution policy unit can
assist in coordinating and monitoring policy
implementation (see A6.15).
Table 3.6
An Example of Targets and Indicators
Studying FSDSs to Cities ...
POLICY GOAL
P O L I C Y OBJECTIVE
INCREASED CONSUMER, TRADER AND
TRANSPORTER SATISFACTION WITH THE
CONDITIONS OF URBAN FOOD MARKETS
WITHIN THREE YEARS
50
TARGET 3 Indicators:
INCREASED PERSONAL AND • number of thefts
PROPERTY SECURITY IN occurring in markets;
MARKETS • number of markets
being fenced off.
Table 3.5
Benefits and Characteristics
of Good Performance Indicators
Good performance indicators have the
following benefits:
• help clarify policy objectives;
• indicate the effectiveness with which particular
activities are being undertaken;
• can trigger in-depth review of factors that lead to
underachieving and facilitate adoption of remedial
actions that improve the quality of inputs and outputs;
and
• provide management with an objective basis for
operating an incentive scheme that effectively
motivates staff.
Good performance indicators should be:
• simple, meaningful to stakeholders who need the
required information;
• relevant, indicators must relate directly to the specified
goals and objectives;
• valid, what is meant to be measured is actually what is
measured;
• reliable, measurement procedure or instrument used
will, to a large extent, produce the same results when
used by different people or by the same person at
different places;
• timely, data and information required is available when
needed;
• cost-effective, the means for collecting, processing,
analysing, storing and retrieving data and information
is comparatively the least costly without compromising
quality.
Source: Rose and Lawton (1999).
TARGET 1 Indicator:
IMPROVED HYGIENE • number of traders and
PRACTICES AMONG FOOD shopkeepers attending
HANDLERS, PROCESSORS, training workshops.
TRADERS AND SHOPKEEPERS
TARGET 2 Indicators:
FOOD TRAFFIC FLOWS ARE • average time spent by lorries
ORGANIZED AND TRANSPORT to enter and leave markets;
FACILITIES ARE PROVIDED AT • unofficial taxation, paid by
MARKETS food transporters on the road
and in town, as reported by
their respective associations;
• parking space made
available.