Determinants of urban consumers’ participation in informal vegetable markets: Evidence from Mahikeng, North West province, South Africa, and implications for policy

Background: This article seeks to examine the perceptions of urban dwellers towards participating in informal vegetable markets and determine the underlying factors shaping their decisions to participate in such markets.   Aim and setting: The objectives were achieved by using cross-sectional data obtained from a random sample of 230 households from Mahikeng in the North West province of South Africa. Households’ perceptions were measured using numeric responses to several questions, which covered various issues related to vegetable marketing and consumption. Principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to draw dominant perceptions from the set of responses.   Method: The probit model was used to determine factors influencing households’ decisions of whether or not to participate in informal vegetable markets. Explanatory variables included demographic and socio-economic factors as well as perception-related factors, which were proxied by the dominant principal components (PCs) obtained from the PCA results.   Results: Two PCs were found dominant, representing safety and quality perceptions as well as the convenience and bargaining opportunities provided by informal traders. The probit regression results indicated that households’ preference for the informal vegetable market were positively influenced by age of household head, low level of education of adult household members, and convenience provided by informal markets. However, households’ wealth status and the perceptions on safety and quality of vegetables were found to have a significant negative influence on participation in the informal market.   Conclusion: Given that informal vegetable trade forms an integral part of the urban economy by offering easy access to food in public spaces and connecting with the formal economy where informal traders source their supplies, the study concludes by highlighting policy interventions aimed at improving the quality of food traded in the informal sector

The impact of food aid on maize prices and production in Swaziland

The objective of the study was to provide empirical evidence on whether food aid leads to depressed domestic maize prices and reduced maize production in subsequent years in Swaziland. The lack of empirical evidence has often resulted in premature negative conclusions about the impact of food aid on Swaziland’s maize industry. The study used secondary national data from 1985 to 2006. Variables used in the statistical analysis included quantity of cereal food aid; quantity of commercial maize imports; quantity of locally produced maize; official maize producer price; open market maize producer price; fertilizer price; fuel price; rainfall; and total area planted to maize. The impact of food aid was measured using the reduced form market equilibrium model consisting of maize quantity and maize producer price functions, estimated simultaneously through the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method. Analytical results revealed that food aid received by Swaziland does not lower prices of domestic maize and has no significant negative effect on the quantity of maize produced in subsequent seasons

The impact of food aid on maize prices and production in Swaziland

The objective of the study was to provide empirical evidence on whether food aid leads to depressed domestic maize prices and reduced maize production in subsequent years in Swaziland. The lack of empirical evidence has often resulted in premature negative conclusions about the impact of food aid on Swaziland’s maize industry. The study used secondary national data from 1985 to 2006. Variables used in the statistical analysis included quantity of cereal food aid; quantity of commercial maize imports; quantity of locally produced maize; official maize producer price; open market maize producer price; fertilizer price; fuel price; rainfall; and total area planted to maize. The impact of food aid was measured using the reduced form market equilibrium model consisting of maize quantity and maize producer price functions, estimated simultaneously through the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method. Analytical results revealed that food aid received by Swaziland does not lower prices of domestic maize and has no significant negative effect on the quantity of maize produced in subsequent seasons.Financial Economics,