FOOD DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS IN THE URBAN INFORMAL MARKETS: THE CASE OF RED MEAT MARKETING IN THE WESTERN CAPE TOWNSHIPS AND INFORMAL SETTLEMENTS

The market for agricultural/food products is increasingly becoming concentrated in the urban black townships and informal settlements. Most of the formal marketing systems are not suited to serve the township market, and consequently this sector experiences access problems which results in a largely inadequate supply. This situation threatens food security in the townships and informal settlements. The marketing vacuum left by the formal systems, however, provided entrepreneurs an opportunity to market food in this sector. This paper therefore deals with the situation where entrepreneurs started marketing red meat in the Cape urban townships. It largely describes the ground level activities of these traders whose operations are generally described as informal