No. 12: Compounding Vulnerability: A Model of Urban Household Food Security

The efficiency of the infrastructure systems in cities will define the extent to which dystopic visions of urban futures become a reality. At the level of the individual household, vulnerability to hazards in cities is defined, in part, by the ability to access essential resources and services. This discussion paper proposes a model to help explain the relationship between access to urban infrastructure systems and household vulnerability to food insecurity. Food access in cities is primarily achieved through food purchases, where households convert assets into food at retail locations. When a household falls into food insecurity through trading household assets for resources, it is often trapped by a host of resource deprivations that have occurred over time. In this manner, the process compounds the vulnerability of a household to food insecurity. The data used in this paper was collected from 2014 to 2016 by the Hungry Cities Partnership using a household food security baseline survey in four cities: Kingston (Jamaica), Maputo (Mozambique), Mexico City (Mexico), and Nairobi (Kenya)

No. 07: Household Food Security and Access to Medical Care in Maputo, Mozambique

The relationship between household access to medical care and food security is a potentially circuitous and challenging relationship to model. This discussion paper uses multiple modelling techniques to determine the quality of the relationships between these variables using household survey data collected by the Hungry Cities Partnership in 2014 in Maputo, Mozambique. The results of the investigation are framed according to the Sustainable Livelihood Framework and indicate a predictive relationship between household food security status and consistent household medical care access among the sampled households. The results also identify potential conditional independence in the relationship between other demographic variables and these two dependent variables among the surveyed households

No. 10: The Hungry Cities Food Purchases Matrix: A Measure of Urban Household Food Security and Food System Interactions

Recent theoretical work has suggested that urban food security is the result of food system interactions. This work highlights the challenge of assessing household-level food insecurity and relating it to the broader food system. One priority is to develop food security metrics that incorporate household interactions with the food system retail environment. The Hungry Cities Food Purchases Matrix (HCFPM) is one such metric that has been developed for situating household food sourcing behaviour within the urban food system. The matrix has been successfully administered in a number of cities in the Global South by the Hungry Cities Partnership. This paper discusses the administration of the HCFPM in a 2014 household survey of Maputo in Mozambique and illustrates how it can provide unique insights into the interactions between households and the broader food system. The HCFPM therefore paves the way for a new frontier in urban food system research in cities of the Global South

No. 15: The Food Security Implications of Gendered Access to Education and Employment in Maputo

The multiple linkages between gender and household food security in cities have been observed in diverse settings, at multiple scales, and through a variety of disciplinary lenses. The Hungry Cities Partnership is rooted in the importance of inclusive growth of cities, which includes a fundamental concern with genderbased injustices that reduce inclusivity, sustainability and food security by underpinning structural poverty. This discussion paper is motivated by the gap in policy-ready quantitative data needed to identify the ways in which gender inequality, food insecurity, and public policy are interconnected. Analysis of the 2014 survey of household food security in Maputo identified female headship as a household attribute closely associated with food insecurity and yet the employment and education status of the head largely mitigated the effect of female headship on food security. Using household survey data, this investigation defines the extent to which the relationship between the sex of the household head and food insecurity appears to be conditionally dependent upon employment and education. The findings provide further impetus to urban policy makers to operationalize gender-equality goals. For Hungry Cities researchers, it provides a model for gender-based analysis of household food security in other cities

No. 04: Supermarkets, Wet Markets and Food Patronage in Nanjing, China

Although supermarkets have become a dominant food outlet for urban residents in developed countries, studies of food purchasing in developing countries such as China report a persistence of traditional food outlets, despite a proliferation of supermarkets over the past two decades. Yet, little is known about urban residents’ use of various food sources in the Chinese context. Building on the debate over the rise of supermarkets and the persistence of traditional food outlets, this paper analyzes the landscape of competing food sources including supermarkets, wet markets, restaurants, online food markets, urban agriculture and others. Based on the HCP citywide survey of 1,200 households in Nanjing, China, the paper looks at the purchasing frequency of a comprehensive list of food items in different food retail outlets, the accessibility of these outlets, and also the use of different food sources. We found that while supermarkets are the top source for purchasing staple grains, dairy products and processed food, wet markets still prevail for purchasing fresh produce and meat. The data demonstrates the high level of food accessibility in Nanjing and also indicates the significance of food sources beyond conventional retailing outlets, such as online food markets, urban agriculture and restaurants, in people’s daily lives

No. 10: The State of Household Food Security in Maputo, Mozambique

The Hungry Cities Partnership aims to promote inclusive growth in urban food systems in Maputo and other cities of the Global South. The production of new empirical knowledge about the levels of household food security and the various facets of the urban food system is a core component of this effort. This report presents and analyses findings from a city-wide survey of 2,071 households that found that most Maputo households are food insecure and that more than a third can be categorized as severely food insecure. Dietary diversity in the city is extremely low and almost half of households had gone without food due to price increases in the six months prior to the survey. The findings demonstrate the importance of the informal economy for food security, both in terms of informal sources of household income and informal food sources. The survey results also suggest a sharp divide in food security status between households in the formal and informal areas of Maputo. Given the differences in infrastructure access between the formal and informal areas of the city, and the close relationship between infrastructure access and food insecurity in Maputo, the informal/formal divide may be a physical manifestation of severe inequality across multiple deprivations in the city. The report recommends that informal vending be given the support it needs for its operations, as it is a critical source of food and livelihoods in Maputo

No. 76: Refugee Entrepreneurial Economies in Urban South Africa

More than 60% of the world’s refugees now live in urban areas, according to the UNHCR. The social and economic impacts of refugee movements are therefore increasingly being felt in the towns and cities of host nations. The notion of “refugee economies” has been adopted to highlight the strong involvement of refugees in the many overlapping processes of production, consumption, exchange and entrepreneurship. As urban refugees increasingly become the norm in the urbanizing Global South, more research on the specifically urban economic impacts of protracted refugee situations is therefore urgently needed. Identifying the economic advantages and benefits associated with the presence of refugees is a key precondition for making governments more responsive to refugee needs and removing the barriers they face. South Africa has adopted a “self-settlement” approach to refugees. The country imposes no restrictions on freedom of movement and the geographical locations where refugees can reside. They are not confined to refugee camps or physically separated from citizens, which means they have direct interaction with South Africans. The self-settlement model emphasizes self-sufficiency on the part of refugees in the process of resettlement, with little assistance from state authorities. Many urban refugees are unable, for various reasons, to access formal employment in the cities and turn to the informal economy for their livelihoods. Because urban informality is generally invisible to policy-makers, scorned by politicians, and seen as a site of desperation rather than opportunity, its economic significance is often minimized. The primary aim of this report is to examine what we call “refugee entrepreneurial economies” in urban South Africa. Within the informal sector, refugee enclaves have often been viewed as stagnant pools of desperation, providing narrow opportunities and limited scope for advancement. But this is a misleading characterization. It is important to recognize the dynamism and growing complexity of South African refugee economies and to reshape our ideas about their positive economic impacts. In this report, we seek to broaden the image of refugees and their economic impacts beyond a narrow focus on their marginal status and vulnerability. They are viewed as dynamic agents with skills and capabilities who can play an integral role in transforming local settings and contributing to economic development. The report also addresses the question of whether geographical location makes a difference to the nature of refugee entrepreneurial economies by contrasting refugee enterprise in a major South African city (Cape Town) with that in several smaller towns in a different part of the country (Limpopo province). Cape Town was chosen as one of two study sites because there is a significant concentration of refugees in the city. In 2015, SAMP conducted surveys of migrant entrepreneurs in Cape Town and Johannesburg and found that in Cape Town, one-third of the respondents were refugees. In recent years, refugee entrepreneurs have also been establishing businesses in smaller urban areas around the country. In contrast to Cape Town, very little research exists on refugee livelihoods and entrepreneurship in Limpopo, which was chosen as the second site for this study. The study focused only on informal sector business owners who hold refugee (Section 24) permits under the Refugees Act. Holders of asylum-seeker (Section 22) permits were not included as many of these migrants are unlikely to be refugees, as conventionally defined. In Cape Town, 504 refugees were interviewed in 12 different areas of the city using a survey instrument first developed by SAMP for the Growing Informal Cities Project. A similar number were interviewed in Limpopo in the towns of Polokwane, Musina, Louis Trichardt, Thohoyandou, Burgersfort and Tzaneen. In each of the two study sites, a “control group” of 500 South Africans was interviewed (1,000 in total). The survey was complemented with 50 in-depth interviews with business owners in each research location and three focus groups with refugees in each location. The first section of the report compares refugee business owners in Cape Town and small-town Limpopo to ascertain if there are any significant differences in their respective socio-demographic and migration profiles: Male refugee entrepreneurs clearly dominate in both areas, with only 20-25% of business owners being women; The entrepreneurs in both locations tend to be relatively young with 80% in Cape Town and 77% in Limpopo under the age of 40. Very few entrepreneurs in either location were over the age of 50. There are marked idfferences in the countries of origin of refugee entrepreneurs. In Cape Town, the most numerous group was from Somalia. While there were some Somali-owned businesses in Limpopo and Ethiopian-owned businesses in Cape Town, the largest group in Limpopo towns was from Ethiopia. Some national groups were well represented in both places, including from the DRC and Zimbabwe. In both Cape Town and Limpopo, there were small numbers of refugees from the same countries, notably Burundi, Cameroon, Congo Brazzaville, Eritrea, Rwanda and Sudan. The majority of refugee business owners (over 90%0 arrived in South Africa after 2000. Limpopo has a slightly greater proportion of recent arrivals than Cape Town. In Limpopo, there is a clear time lag between year of migration to South Africa and year of arrival in the province. As many as 64% of the refugee entrepreneurs in Limpopo had lived in another South African town or city first (compared to only 27% in Cape Town). The major reason for relocation from large cities to small-town Limpopo is the pattern of violence against non-South African informal businesses. Experience of violent crime and fears over personal safety were recurrent motives for moving to Limpopo, which appears to be a safer haven and less inhospitable business environment than South Africa’s large cities. But while relocation to Limpopo may lessen the chances of victimization, it does not eliminate them. Many of the refugees interviewed in Limpopo told stories of being robbed and having their business premises destroyed. Police misconduct emerged as a greater problem for refugees in Limpopo. Despite being located in very different parts of South Africa, and nearly 2,000 km apart, the Cape Town and Limpopo refugee entrepreneurs engaged in a similarly wide range of economic activities. The vast majority in both locations are in the retail sector (75-79%), followed by services (25-28%) and manufacturing (4%-8%). The kinds of goods being sold and services offered are very similar as well. Among the sampled Limpopo refugee entrepreneurs, the most common items sold are clothing/footwear, confectionary, soft drinks, and toiletries/cosmetics. In Cape Town, the most common items sold are cigarettes, clothing/ footwear, personal accessories, and confectionary and beverages. Given the common perception among South African policy-makers that refugees and other migrants are driving South Africans out of business, it is of interest to see if they are selling the same kinds of goods. While no product category is the exclusive domain of either group, South Africans dominate the sale of fresh and cooked food and refugees are more likely to be selling footwear, personal accessories, electronics and household products. With regard to the business operations of refugees in the two locations, the main findings were as follows: The primary sources of business start-up capital in both areas were personal savings. Around 20% of both groups used loans from relatives, 12-14% loans from non-relatives and 12% gifts from relatives. Very few were able to access funding from banks, NGOs or the UNHCR. The main difference worth noting was that more entrepreneurs in Limpopo were able to access goods on credit with which to start their businesses. The most common strategies include bulk purchasing, extended hours of operation, keeping business records, negotiating prices with suppliers, allowing customers to buy goods on credit, and competitive prices. Refugees consult other entrepreneurs, suppliers and the media for information about the price of goods. There was very little difference in the frequency of use of business strategies by the two groups of refugees. Living in a large city does seem to provide more opportunity for buying in bulk, negotiating with suppliers and getting information on prices from other entrepreneurs. Almost a third of the Limpopo refugees travel to Johannesburg to purchase supplies, while most Cape Town refugees obtain their goods in the city. Although refugees in Limpopo are able to start a business with a smaller capital outlay than those in Cape Town, their enterprises are not as profitable. The Limpopo refugees earned less on average than their Cape Town counterparts: ZAR7,246 versus ZAR11,315 per month. In both Cape Town and Limpopo there are clear indications of increased business value with significant upward movement out of the lowest value category of less than ZAR5,000. The proportion of businesses in the ZAR50,000-plus value category increased from 27% to 47% in Cape Town and in Limpopo from 15% to 42%, suggesting that higher-value businesses may actually be performing better in Limpopo than in Cape Town. The establishment and growth of refugee businesses has economic spin-offs for a variety of South African stakeholders. The first beneficiaries are formal sector suppliers including wholesalers, supermarkets, fresh produce markets, retailers and manufacturers. Around two-thirds of the sampled refugees in both Cape Town and Limpopo purchase supplies from wholesalers, who are easily the largest beneficiaries of their patronage. Refugees in Cape Town are also more likely to patronize supermarkets and factories while those in Limpopo are more likely to patronize small shops. The average monthly spend at wholesalers was very similar in both Cape Town and Limpopo (ZAR35,000). The second major beneficiary of the activities of refugee entrepreneurs is the South African treasury. While most businesses operate in the informal sector and are too small to pay income tax, they pay VAT on most goods purchased from formal sector suppliers and do not claim rebates. Third, as these refugees noted, they pay heavy rents to South African property owners. While over half of both groups of refugees paid rent to a private South African owner, this was more common in Limpopo (almost 66%). The average monthly rentals were very similar: ZAR4,838 in Cape Town and ZAR4,555 in Limpopo. Fourth, the municipal government has a direct financial interest in its dealings with refugees. Particularly in Cape Town, refugees pay into municipal coffers through rent for business sites. This amounted to 22% of the refugee entrepreneurs compared with only 4% in Limpopo. These rents were higher in Cape Town, an average of ZAR879 per month compared to only ZAR311 per month in Limpopo. Also, as many as 28% of Limpopo-based refugees (and 21% of those in Cape Town) pay an annual licence fee to the municipality. The cost of a business licence is much higher in Cape Town at ZAR1,959 per year compared to ZAR752 per year in Limpopo. Fifth, refugee businesses in the informal economy create jobs. Around half (52%) of the Cape Town refugee entrepreneurs and just under half (45%) of the Limpopo entrepreneurs employ people in their businesses. The Cape Town and Limpopo entrepreneurs were equally likely to employ South Africans (around 50% of the total number of jobs created). While the Limpopo entrepreneurs favoured female employees (51% versus 45% of total employees), both groups preferred to hire South African women than men (with 65-70% of South African employees in both sites being female). Finally, it is clear from the accounts of refugees in both Cape Town and Limpopo that one of the primary beneficiaries of their activities in the informal economy is the South African consumer who can access goods and services much more cheaply than from formal sector suppliers. These include necessities such as cheaper food for the food insecure, luxuries such as household and personal products, and services such as panel-beating

No. 78: Comparing Refugees and South Africans in the Urban Informal Sector

This report compares the business operations of over 2,000 South Africans and refugees in the urban informal economy and systematically dispels some of the myths that have grown up around their activities. First, the report takes issue with the perception that South Africans are inexperienced and unmotivated participants in the informal economy. Many have years of experience and have successfully grown their businesses. Second, it contests the view that refugees enjoy a competitive advantage because they come to South Africa with inherent talent and already honed skills. On the contrary, over 80% of those surveyed had no prior informal sector experience and learned their skills on the job and after coming to South Africa. Third, the report shows that there is fierce competition in the urban informal sector between and within the two groups. However, business competition between refugees and South Africans is mitigated by the fact that they tend to dominate different sections of the informal economy with South Africans dominant in the food sector and refugees in the household products and personal services sectors. Finally, the report takes issue with recent arguments that all informal sector businesses are equally at risk from robbery, extortion and other crimes. It shows that South Africans are affected but that refugees are far more vulnerable than their South African counterparts. The report therefore confirms that xenophobia and xenophobic violence are major threats to refugees seeking a livelihood in the informal sector, especially if they venture into informal settlements

HCP discussion paper, no. 12 : compounding vulnerability : a model of urban household food security

This discussion paper proposes a model to help explain the relationship between access to urban infrastructure systems and household vulnerability to food insecurity. Food access in cities is primarily achieved through food purchases, where households convert assets into food at retail locations. When a household falls into food insecurity through trading household assets for resources, it is often trapped by a host of resource deprivations that have occurred over time. In this manner, the process compounds the vulnerability of a household to food insecurity. At the level of the individual household, vulnerability is defined in part by the ability to access essential resources and services.Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC

Urban Infrastructure and Household Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in Maputo, Mozambique

Infrastructure is an important foundation for urban sustainability. Infrastructure includes both a system of institutions like banks and hospitals (known as social infrastructure) and a network of physical utilities like water and power grids (known as physical infrastructure). Social infrastructure allows households to access social services while physical infrastructure allows households to access physical resources. A lack of household access to either social or physical infrastructure can make a household vulnerable to poverty. Maputo provides one example of this relationship. The city is characterised by a dualistic split between a formal downtown core and informal peri-urban areas. The households in the formal areas of Maputo tend to have a greater access to both social and physical infrastructure, while households in the informal areas tend to have reduced access to both. In Maputo, a lack of household access to social and physical infrastructure also increases the odds that a household will be food insecure. This means that inconsistent infrastructure access seems to predispose a household to food insecurity. Using household survey data collected from 2071 households in Maputo, this investigation applied binary logistic regression analysis to predict three measures of household food insecurity: the Household Dietary Diversity Score, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, and the Months of Adequate Household Food Provisioning. Two sets of independent variables were used in this analysis: inconsistent household access to physical and social infrastructure (measured by inconsistent access to water, electricity, medical care, and a cash income) and a set of social vulnerability indicators (the sex, education, and employment status of the household head, low household income, household size, dwelling informality, and the chronic illness of a household member). The results demonstrate that households with inconsistent access to infrastructure have greater odds of being food insecure even while controlling for income level, the presence of chronic illness, household size, dwelling informality, or the gender of the household head. The relationship is also very reliable. Using only household access to water, electricity, medical care, and a cash income, it was possible predict whether a sampled household was food insecure with 75% accuracy (in the sampled population). This relationship has important implications for urban planning and municipal social policy. Households in areas with limited access to infrastructure are more likely to be food insecure even when low income is controlled for. Based on these findings, investment in urban infrastructure access may have a knock-on impact on household food insecurity in Maputo. These findings suggest a preliminary alternative intervention for household food security beyond complex and potentially confounding economic policy intervention