The Association of Christian Economists

An Academic Society for Christians in the Economics Profession

  • Home
  • About ACE
    • Donate to ACE
  • 2023 ACE Conference
  • Faith & Economics
    • Aims and Scope
    • Instructions for Authors
    • Archives
  • Podcast
  • Membership
    • My Account
    • Join ACE
  • Log In

Urbanization, Diet Change, and the Transformation of the Downstream and Midstream of the Agrifood System – Reardon, Boughton, Tschirley, Haggblade, Dolislager, Minten, & Hernandez

Urbanization, Diet Change, and Transformation of the Downstream and Midstream of the Agrifood System: Effects on the Poor in Africa and Asia

Thomas Reardon
Duncan Boughton
David Tschirley
Steve Haggblade
Michael Dolislager
Michigan State University

Bart Minten
Ricardo Hernandez
IFPRI

Full Text PDF

Abstract: In Africa and Asia, agrifood markets are important to the poor, and current rapid changes in these markets have implications for the poor. First, as a share of the national market, urban markets have gone from marginal some decades ago to dominant today. Thus the urban market is a main food product market the poor face as sellers. Second, the poor are exposed to the product market often as net buyers of products (both from local sources but also increasingly from urban sources of processed foods and fresh products re-“exported” from urban to rural markets). Third, the poor are also very exposed to labor markets as sellers of labor—both to the rural nonfarm and the urban labor markets. Fourth, the product market has transformed from mainly a grain market some decades ago to a market diversified beyond staples into fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, edible oils. There is a chance for the poor to gain from this shift toward higher-value non-staples as farmers, and as workers since the employment multipliers are high from non-grains. Fifth, agrifood markets are also transforming structurally. Supply chains are getting geographically longer with urbanization, and developing (with a proliferation of SMEs in the early stages) and consolidating (with the emergence of supermarkets and large processors in the more advanced stages). This may lower food costs for the urban poor and increase the scope and volume of the urban market for rural suppliers. In sum, urbanization, diet change, and food system transformation all offer opportunities for the poor as suppliers of labor and products and sellers of labor. But accessing these opportunities requires “threshold investments” in human, physical or locational assets by the poor to seize these opportunities. The requirements can be geographic (hence geographic poverty traps) and micro (skills, productive assets).

JEL: 012, 013, Q12, Q13.

Keywords: agrifood markets, food system, farm households, urbanization, poverty, rural suppliers.

Share this:

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Pocket
  • Print
January 1, 2016

Post navigation

Review of: Seeking the City: Wealth, Poverty, and Political Economy in Christian Perspective → ← Household Preferences for Municipal and Community-Managed Services: Survey Results from Guatemala – Vasquez

Journal and Website Search

Browse Recent Articles

Review of A Sacred Journey: Faithful Presence in the Secular Academy

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Review ofA Sacred Journey: Faithful Presence in the Secular AcademyPaul Nicholas Wilson Reviewed by Andrew HansenAnselm House Full Text PDF

More Info

Review of Pricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Society

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Review ofPricing Lives: Guideposts for a Safer Societyby W. Kip Viscusi Reviewed by Matthew P. ForsstromWheaton College Full Text PDF

More Info

Review of Political Economy as Natural Theology: Smith, Malthus, and Their Followers

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Review ofPolitical Economy as Natural Theology: Smith, Malthus, and Their Followersby Paul Oslington Reviewed by Christina McRorieCreighton University [...]

More Info

Review of Capital and Ideology

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Review ofCapital and Ideologyby Thomas Piketty Reviewed by Jamin HübnerUniversity of the PeopleLCC International University PDF Full Text

More Info

Review of Causal Inference: The Mixtape

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Review of Causal Inference: The MixtapeBy Scott Cunningham Reviewed by Sarah HamersmaSyracuse University Full Text PDF

More Info

The Lost Sheep, God’s Body and Housing – Renewing Hearts and Minds into Renewed Communities

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 The Lost Sheep, God’s Body and Housing – Renewing Hearts and Minds into Renewed Communities Virginia BeardHope College Abstract: Home is part of what [...]

More Info

Economic and Environmental Religion: The Work of Robert H. Nelson

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Economic and Environmental Religion: The Work of Robert H. Nelson Paul OslingtonAlphacrucis College Abstract: This article contextualizes and assesses [...]

More Info

Liberation Theology and Development Economics: Unlikely Allies?

Faith & EconomicsNUMBER 78, Fall 2021 Liberation Theology and Development Economics: Unlikely Allies? Annette Davis and Christina McRorieCreighton University Abstract: This article proposes [...]

More Info

Feedback

Any questions or feedback regarding site content or your membership account can be sent to the ACE webmaster.

Navigation

  • My Account
    • Membership Billing
    • Membership Cancel
    • Membership Checkout
    • Membership Confirmation
    • Membership Invoice
    • Join ACE
  • About ACE
    • Donate to ACE
  • Faith & Economics
    • Aims and Scope
    • Archives
    • Instructions for Authors
  • Membership
  • Home
  • Archives – Old Issues
  • Podcast
  • 2023 ACE Conference

Connect with ACE

Powered by WordPress | theme SG Double