Academic literature on the topic 'Consumers Zambia'

This study investigates whether e-Government consumers (citizens and businesses) in selected towns in Zambia are aware of the anticipated benefits of e-Government. Awareness translates into recognition of the perceived benefits and may influence adoption as posited in Davis' 1989 technology acceptance model. Using the mixed methods research approach, an investigation follows of consumers' awareness, or lack of awareness, of e-Government benefits in three Zambian towns. To date, no significant empirical study has been done investigating e-Government penetration in Zambia evidenced by consumers' awareness. This article contributes to the current debate on e-Government in Sub-Saharan Africa by means of regression modeling which shows that apart from the traditional factors, namely 'perceived ease of use' and 'perceived usefulness' that influence adoption, the Zambian context also presents additional factors that influence adoption such as culture, cost, trust, and other social dimensions or beliefs.

AbstractThe rapid expansion in commercial exports of second-hand clothing from the West to the Third World and the increase in second-hand clothing consumption in many African countries raise challenging questions about the effects of globalisation and the meanings of the West and the local that consumers attribute to objects at different points of their journey across global space. This article draws on extensive research into the sourcing of second-hand clothing in the West, and its wholesaling, retailing, distribution and consumption in Zambia. Discussing how people in Zambia are deahng with the West's unwanted clothing, the article argues that a cultural economy is at work in local appropriations of this particular commodity that is opening space for local agency in clothing consumption. Clothing has a powerful hold on people's imagination because the self and society articulate through the dressed body. To provide background for this argument, the article briefly sketches recent trends in the global second-hand clothing trade that place the countries of sub-Saharan Africa as the world's largest importing region. There follows a discussion of Zambians' preoccupation with clothing, both new and second-hand, historically and at the present time. It demonstrates that the meanings consumers in Zambia attribute to second-hand clothing are neither uniform nor static but shift across class and gender lines, and between urban and rural areas. Above all, they depend on the cultural politics of their time. In dealing with clothing, people in Zambia are making sense of post-colonial society and their own place within it and in the world at large.

Background: Industrial food fortification is a major strategy to improve dietary micronutrient intakes and prevent deficiencies. Zambia introduced mandatory sugar fortification with vitamin A, at a target of 10 mg/kg, in 1998. Representative surveys conducted since that time do not support marked improvement in vitamin A status. Objective: To describe vitamin A concentrations in retail sugar, as well as vendor practices, perceptions of fortified foods, and sugar use practices. Methods: We conducted a census of sugar vendors in one Zambian community, capturing information on vendors, available brands and packaging options, and storage conditions. We purchased all brands and package types of sugar available at each vendor. In a 15% subsample, we conducted semi-structured interviews with vendor–consumer pairs. We tested 50% of sugar samples at random for vitamin A using an iCheck portable fluorimeter. Results: The distribution of vitamin A in sugar in market samples was highly skewed, with a median of 3.1 mg/kg (25th-75th percentiles: 1.8-5.5) and a range from 0.2 to 29.9 mg/kg. Only 11.3% of samples met the 10 mg/kg statutory requirement. Sugar was primarily repackaged and sold in small quantities, with rapid turnover of stocks. Perceptions of fortification by vendors and consumers were generally positive. Conclusions: Vitamin A in fortified sugar fell well below statutory requirements. Our data point to challenges at regional depot and/or poor adherence to fortification standards at the factory level. A renewed commitment to monitoring and enforcement will be required for Zambia to benefit from a food fortification strategy.

Solar water heaters (SWHs) are one of the most effective plans for general and easy use of solar energy to supply hot water in domestic and industrial sectors. This paper gives the first-ever attempts to assess the optimal localization of SWHs across 22 major cities in Zambia, as well as determine the possibility of hot water generation and model the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission saving. The climate data used is extracted by using the MeteoSyn software which is modeled in TSOL™. Results show the high potential of GHG emission reduction due to nonconsumption of fossil fuels owing to the deployment of SWHs, and three cities Kabwe, Chipata, and Mbala had the highest GHG mitigation by 1552.97 kg/y, 1394.8 kg/y, and 1321.39 kg/y, respectively. On average, SWHs provide 62.47% of space heating and 96.05% of the sanitary hot water requirement of consumers. The findings have shown the potential for the deployment of SWHs in Zambia. The techno-enviro study in this paper can be used by the policymakers of Zambia and countries with similar climates.

Food environments in Africa are changing rapidly, with modern retailers—such as supermarkets, hypermarkets, and fast-food restaurants—gaining in importance. Changing food environments can influence consumers’ food choices and dietary patterns. Recent research has suggested that the growth of supermarkets leads to more consumption of processed foods, less healthy diets, and rising obesity. However, relatively little is known about what type of consumers actually use modern supermarkets and to what extent. Moreover, focusing only on supermarkets may be misleading, as most consumers obtain their food from various modern and traditional retailers. We add to the literature by examining relationships between consumers’ socioeconomic status, use of different modern and traditional retailers, and dietary patterns. The analysis uses household survey data from urban Zambia. Results show that two-thirds of the households use modern and traditional retailers simultaneously, but that richer households are more likely than poorer ones to use supermarkets and hypermarkets. Use of modern retailers is positively associated with higher consumption of ultra-processed foods, after also controlling for income and other socioeconomic factors. However, the use of traditional stores and kiosks is also positively associated with the consumption of ultra-processed foods, suggesting that modern retailers are not the only drivers of dietary transitions.

<p>This study was designed to analyze drivers of dry common beans trade in Lusaka, Zambia. Specifically, the study analyzed the effect of common bean grain characteristics on bean market price. Data was collected using structured questionnaires from 225 traders stationed in three markets namely: Soweto, Chilenje and Mtendere.</p>Using hedonic pricing, the findings reveal that medium sized grain was an important characteristic which significantly affected the pricing of common bean. For instance, it was observed that medium grain size fetched ZMW1.266 per kilogram (kg) and ZMW 1.042 per kg more than grains of smaller size in the pooled and Soweto market sample, respectively. It was further revealed that yellow, yellow and white color significantly affected the bean price received by traders. Other factors which significantly affected the pricing of beans included age of the trader, being a retail trader and trading at Chilenje market. Given these findings, common bean breeders need to include traders and consumers as important actors whose knowledge can make resourceful impact in varietal development. Furthermore, interventions by policy makers that respond to the social economic needs of traders is recommended to improve bean trade.

Subject area Impact investing, Social enterprise. Study level/applicability MBA, EMBA, Executive Education. Case overview Zoona mobile money: investing for impact details a slightly altered version of the real events that occurred in late 2011 with the series A round of investment in Zoona, a mobile money business in Zambia. The focus is on the decisions that have to be made by the management team of a socially innovative tech start-up (Zoona) providing mobile money and financial services to previously unbanked consumers in Zambia. Expected learning outcomes By the end of this case, the student should be able to: understand the basics of term sheets and be able to perform a high level analysis and comparison of two distinct term sheets; identify investor objectives, ultimately recognising the general differences between private equity and venture capital investors; identify and weigh the costs and benefits of term sheets, as well as identify negotiating points and necessary trade-offs in the investment process; and identify and understand the “soft” benefits of investors and weigh these in relation to a term sheet analysis. Supplementary materials Teaching notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes. Subject code CSS 1: Accounting and Finance.

Despite the enormous potential that indigenous chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) have for sustaining livelihoods, their production and marketing has been mostly neglected resulting in the sub-sector being highly underdeveloped with poor linkages between producers and consumers. The main objective of this study was to map and analyze the value chain for indigenous chickens in Lusaka and Central Provinces of Zambia. The study also analyzes the value added and the associated costs in the chain. Findings show that although almost all (99 percent) of smallholder households keep indigenous poultry, productivity and production is very low leading to low and unplanned sales. Low production is due to high mortality of indigenous chickens mainly as a result of limited producer knowledge of methods of disease prevention and breeding practices. The absence of processing along the value chain means that chickens are sold live (in open markets) and consequently cannot be retailed through formal channels like supermarkets leading to exclusion of potential middle and high income consumers. Although the value chain for indigenous chicken shows positive gross margins for all the players along the chain, there is need to address the various constraints affecting the value chain in order to improve the operation of the chain and hence lead to increased incomes for the value chain actors and at the same time ensuring cheap delivery of indigenous chicken in a more convenient form and in formal outlets.

Multi-banking among bank account holders is a trend that has been on the rise in the recent past. Even though most banks provide similar services, like money transfer, deposits, loans, safety vault keeping, insurance and other services, it is seen that consumers have preference to certain specific banks. The purpose of this study was to assess the lived experiences of multi-banked bank account holders at Manda Hill Mall Lusaka, Zambia. Data was generated from seven purposively sampled multi-banked account holders using; in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, informal discussions and observations. Factors that emerged contributing to multi-banking among account holders were fraternity, proximity, customer service, security and brand loyalty. The study concluded that most of the factors that influence multi-banking involve the attitude of the account holders, fraternity inclinations, security constraints and poor customer services. Thus, it is recommend that account holders and would be account holders should be accorded chance to be well informed and make independent decisions as to which bank to bank with. In addition, Banks need to improve their service provision and strengthen relationships with their customers. Further, there is need for the banks to keep moving with time and improving their brand to appealing international standards. Above all, there is need to enhance security to the satisfaction of the clients.

The current trend in volatile oil prices, global warming and environmental pollution, has encouraged major consumers worldwide to sharply increase their use of “green” fuels. Bioethanol is usually obtained from the conversion of carbon-based feedstock. Bioethanol from biomass sources is the principal fuel used as a fossil fuels’ substitute for road transport vehicles. Bioethanol is predominantly produced by the sugar fermentation process, although it can also be generated by the chemical process of reacting ethylene with steam. Finger millet (Eleusine coracana) is also known as Ragi (India), Kodo (Nepal), Uburo (Rwanda), Kurakkan (Srilanka), Bulo (Uganda), Kambale (Zambia) and Tamba (Nigeria) and can be used as an efficient source for bioethanol production. Despite all its importance, however, finger millet is still grossly undervalued both scientifically and internationally. This review observes current progress in bioethanol production from E. coracana feedstock and the effectiveness of various technological approaches for that. The main aspects of ethanol production from finger millet seeds have been considered. Seeds, which are already used for brewing, are the most obvious variant of feedstock for ethanol production from this crop. The conversion of finger millet straw and agricultural waste into bioethanol has also been reviewed. Practical results of development and testing the tentative technology of sweet sorghum and finger millet combined processing into bioethanol are described. The concept of the tentative technology of bioethanol production from carbohydrate raw material of the first and second generations is suggested.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of the research was to investigate the decision-making styles of urban Zambian Generation X females shopping for apparel products. The research made use of a Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) scale developed by Sproles and Kendall (1986) to measure the characteristics of various shopping styles. Out of 300 self-administered questionnaires distributed, 180 were used for data analysis. The Cronbach Alpha coefficients confirmed the reliability of the CSI scale on 7 out of 8 decision-making styles that could be associated with the consumers under review. The study then used Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to establish the variation between the different decision-making styles. The findings revealed that the decision-making styles of quality consciousness and a recreational shopping orientation are highly correlated. The research findings have policy implications and recommendations for the development of marketing strategies and further research have been made.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van die navorsing was om ondersoek te doen na die besluitnemingstyle van stedelike Zambiese vroue van Generasie X wanneer hulle klereprodukte koop. Die navorsing het gebruik gemaak van die inventaris van verbruikerstyle wat deur Sproles en Kendall (1986) ontwikkel is, ’n skaal wat in Engels as die Consumer Styles Inventory (CSI) bekendstaan, om die eienskappe van verskillende inkopiestyle te meet. Uit die 300 self-geadministreerde vraelyste wat versprei is, is 180 vir die ontleding van die data gebruik. The Cronbach Alpha-koëffisiënte kon die betroubaarheid van die CSI-skaal bevestig op 7 uit die 8 besluitnemingstyle wat geassosieer kon word met die verbruikers wat ondersoek is. Die navorsingstudie het daarna van variansieanalise gebruik gemaak om die variasie tussen die verskillende besluitnemingstyle te bepaal. Die bevindings het onthul dat die besluitnemingstyle van gehaltebewustheid en inkopies wat as rekreasie beskou word, hoogs gekorreleerd is. Die navorsingsbevindinge het implikasies vir beleid en aanbevelings is gedoen vir die ontwikkeling van bemarkingstrategieë en vir verdere navorsing.

The objectives of this study are to contribute to the understanding of consumer behaviour, and to investigate the existence of brand loyalty in the less developed countries. The study attempts to fill the gap in literature on consumer behaviour and consumer characteristics in the less developed countries. The significance of the study is that while the existing studies focus on Latin American markets, it investigates consumer behaviour in Africa: Zambia. A further contribution lies in its attempts to understand consumer behaviour in markets where there is a common notion that marketing is not important because the existence of shortages creates demand. This study regards such attitudes as myopic because marketing should be understood as more than a demand creating tool. It should be viewed as a discpline that can enable a manager to match organizational capabilities and resources to the needs of a society. Moreover, at the micro level, companies are in competition for the occupation of the largest segment in the consumers mind. The need for marketing during shortages is in conformity with Kotlers argument that: 'Marketing is as critical a strategic concept and an operating philosophy during shortages as it is during surpluses. The seller (Marketer) who abandons the marketing mode of thinking during shortages is playing Russian roulette with his market franchise. He is risking long-term marriage to a set of customers for the temporary charms of a seductress.' (Quoted in Nekvasil, 1975, p.57). Hence, studying brand loyalty and the factors related to it has particular relevance in the less developed countries. The results of a consumer survey conducted among 1289 respondents in Zambia reveals that women, who were mostly involved in the purchase of the products, were very aware of brands on the market, used informal (personal sources) of information, identified brands by name and as expected, the frequency of purchases were low and quantities bought quite large, reflecting the product shortage situation. The cross-tabulations and log-linear analysis further indicated that brand loyal consumers tended to be mostly men, educated, from middle and high income classes, store loyal, heavy users, not price sensitive, influenced by family and friends, who lived in urban areas where distribution is extensive and many brands available. However, some interbrand differences were evident. These results suggest a profile of brand loyal consumers, and this can be used to segment the market for frequently purchased products. More significantly, the possibility of market segmentation would indicate appropriate marketing and advertising strategies for companies selling these products in the less developed countries.

Cultural, social, personal and psychological factors were identified by Rani (2014) as the four major influences on consumer’s buying behavior. While There are many studies about the personal values and consumer purchase behavior, but there is very little research to study Africa women’ consumer behavior, and in Zambia there is even less studies which are conducted to analyze their women’ values and their consumer decision-making styles. The purpose of this study is to explore Zambian women’ personal values and their consumption decision-making styles and how personal values influence their consumer decision-making styles in the context of human hair extension products. It is very important to analyze the consumer values of Zambia women and their consumer decision-making styles in the context of human hair extension, because the demand for hair extension in Zambia is growing fast and the hair extension has become a muti-billion dollars industry This paper had reviewed literature regarding consumer behavior, in specifically personal values and consumer decision-making styles. The LOV scale proposed by Kahle (1983) and the Consumer’s decision making styles proposed by Sproles and Kendall (1986) were adopted to analyze the inter relationship through methodology of multiple regression. The author conducted a descriptive analysis of the primary data collected by a field survey of research questionnaire toward Zambian women. All the questionnaires are distributed and collected at the main shopping malls and universities in Lusaka, Zambia. Through a series analysis of the sample by SPSS, the paper had detected all the list of values and decision-making styles of Zambian women. There are only two consumer values namely Security related with physical and financial safety and Self-fulfillment related with achievement of consumption which achieved a reasonable degree of reliability, and the consumer decision-making styles of Confused by Over-choice related with lacking ability of information analysis and Novelty-Fashion Consciousness related up-to-date fashion pursuit achieved a reasonable degree of reliability. The results reveal that the higher the value of Security, the greater the adoption of Novelty-Fashion Consciousness, and the higher the value of Self-fulfillment, the greater the adoption of Confused by Over-choice Decision-making Styles. However the Security value does not have any significant impact on the adoption of Confused by Over-choice Decision-making styles and the effect of Self-fulfilment value on Novelty-Fashion Consciousness is not significant.

The enrichment of B-carotene, a precursor to vitamin A, in the local sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatas L.) cultivars is an attractive option in order to improve vitamin A intake in Zambia. The study was conducted to: 1) identify sweetpotato genotypes high in B-carotene content and high root dry mass (RDM) and to determine their combining ability, as measured through their progeny performance; and 2) screen progeny for root characteristics, yield, B-carotene content, and RDM. Firstly, a participatory rural appraisal (PRA) was conducted to determine the consumer preferences for sweetpotato. These preferences would form the basis for selecting desirable genotypes. Secondly, five selected parents were crossed in a full diallel for genetic variance studies. A selected subset of the diallel progeny were evaluated in three environments. Thirdly, 15 polycross progeny were evaluated for stability in five environments using additive main effect and multiplicative interaction (AMMI). The PRA revealed that consumers preferred high RDM combined with high fresh root yield. The diallel crosses recorded significant general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA) effects for B-carotene, RDM, harvest index (HI) and root fresh yield (RFY). The ratios of GCA to SCA variances were large (0.68-0.92). Two high B-carotene parents exhibited positive high GCA effects, indicating that additive gene effects were predominant in the inheritance of B-carotene. Reciprocal mean squares were not significant for RDM but they were significant (p=0.01) for B-carotene content. The estimate of narrow sense heritability of RDM (76.3%) was high; but heritability of B-carotene (20.9%), HI (29.1%) and RFY (34.9%) were much lower. These results suggest that rapid genetic gains should be possible with mass selection breeding techniques based on the phenotype of the parent for RDM but progress will be slow for B-carotene content HI, and RFY. The AMMI analysis identified progeny G2 (B-carotene content = 5.0 mg 100 g-1 and RDM = 37%), G6 (B-carotene content = 4.7 mg 100 g-1 and RDM = 37%), and G8 (B-carotene content = 4.7 mg 100 g-1, RDM = 35%) from the polycross as stable across environments for both B-carotene content and RDM. Genotype G3 was best suited to one of the test environments and had the highest B-carotene content (9.421 mg 100 g-1) and a high RDM (35.47%).
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

Master of Science
Department of Agricultural Economics
Amanor-Boadu, Vincent
Beans play a major role in addressing malnutrition and poverty in Africa. Hence, several studies have been conducted over the last two decades on beans attributes in various African countries, including Zambia. The similarity of these studies is their emphasis on the importance of including consumer preferences in the beans supply chain. This study attempts to contribute to informing the bean supply chain about bean attributes and consumer characteristics influencing beans consumption so that downstream stakeholders can effectively seize the embedded opportunities in the bean supply chain. Data used in this study were obtained from 900 surveyed households in Lusaka, Zambia and analyzed using a logit model. The study evaluated three attributes of beans: gravy quality; cooking time; and grain size. In addition, it assessed the price of beans associated with these attributes. The study sought to determine how these attributes influenced consumer preference for specific color beans. Results show that gravy quality, cooking time and price are important bean attributes influencing consumer preference for purple, mixed yellow and yellow bean while grain size has no statistically significant effect. The study also found that gender, education, and employment status of the household head or person purchasing food for the household, as well as the household’s child dependency ratio, dual household income, residential area and perception of the bean food group’s importance to consumers’ nutritional security were statistically significant in their effect on preference for purple, mixed yellow and yellow beans. The study’s results contribute to downstream stakeholders’ efforts to improve their own decisions in identifying the market segments to engage in. For example, bean breeders, producers, and traders might optimize limited resources available for their activities by investing in products that promise large markets to use volume to overcome any price disadvantage regarding profitability. Similarly, they may also invest in high-value low volume products that could also provide them with acceptable profitability. The option used would depend on their location and their own resource situation.

1 online resource (viii, 155 leaves)
This study explores the ways in which female entrepreneurs in Zambia and South Africa use their cellular phones, as well as their interests and needs in using this technology. The findings in this study are therefore crucial to the body of knowledge on programmes that seek to uplift women's lives through the deployment of ICTs, since current policies do not make full provision for the use of mobile phones in female entrepreneurship. Information on female entrepreneurs and cellular phones was collected in the literature review. The scrutiny of various literature sources and the analysis of the responses from the interviews with the female entrepreneurs were carried out to arrive at answers to the following research questions: 1. Can telecommunications (specifically, cellular phones) increase the participation of women in the economy? 2. What are the consumer habits of female entrepreneur cellular phone users in Zambia and South Africa? 3. Are the communication needs of business women in Zambia and South Africa adequately met? 4. What are the obstacles that female entrepreneurs in Zambia and South Africa face in the use of cellular phones? 5. What are the similarities and differences in the consumer habits of female entrepreneur cellular phone users in Zambia and South Africa? In order to gather information on the consumer habits of female entrepreneurs in Zambia and South Africa, a survey was conducted of 100 female entrepreneurs. The female entrepreneurs identified in this survey consist of female business owners with no more than 50 employees each, from Gauteng Province in South Africa, and Lusaka Province in Zambia. The female entrepreneurs were identified through the accidental sampling technique, and a structured questionnaire was used to collect information from them. The findings of the investigation reveal that cellular phones have the potential to increase the participation of women in mainstream economic activity, since they are a useful means of communication that allow women from diverse backgrounds to communicate easily for both business and social purposes. Accordingly, national policy-makers in South Africa and Zambia need to investigate further the potential of using cellular phone or similar technology to empower small-scale businesswomen. The investigation also shows that the cellular phone consumer habits of female entrepreneurs in Zambia and South Africa differ when it comes to using cellular phones for business and social communication purposes. More Zambian women indicated that they use their cellular phones in business operations, while South African women showed a tendency to use their phones more for social purposes. The results of this investigation further illustrate that despite the importance in value which the mobile phone has for women entrepreneurs in both Zambia and South Africa, the communication needs of women's entrepreneurship are not adequately met. The main obstacles in meeting the communication needs of female entrepreneurs in Zambia and South Africa are inadequate network coverage and high prices. The study shows that a number of women (52,2%) indicated that they are inhibited from effective communication services and therefore resort to borrowing other people's mobile phones. The lack of empirical studies on the use of telecommunications by female entrepreneurs in both Zambia and South Africa attests to the fact that women's entrepreneurship is still an area that requires in-depth investigation. If various development efforts are to meet their targets, clearly the area of women's entrepreneurship and how various ICTs such as cellular phones are used therein needs urgent investigation.
Communication Sciences
M. A. (International Communication)

This study investigates whether e-Government consumers (citizens and businesses) in selected towns in Zambia are aware of the anticipated benefits of e-Government. Awareness translates into recognition of the perceived benefits and may influence adoption as posited in Davis' 1989 technology acceptance model. Using the mixed methods research approach, an investigation follows of consumers' awareness, or lack of awareness, of e-Government benefits in three Zambian towns. To date, no significant empirical study has been done investigating e-Government penetration in Zambia evidenced by consumers' awareness. This article contributes to the current debate on e-Government in Sub-Saharan Africa by means of regression modeling which shows that apart from the traditional factors, namely 'perceived ease of use' and 'perceived usefulness' that influence adoption, the Zambian context also presents additional factors that influence adoption such as culture, cost, trust, and other social dimensions or beliefs.

Seven years after Britain’s government in 1996 admitted to the potentially catastrophic human health risks of mad cow disease, fears of the deadly pathogen had faded. Scientists had neither a vaccine nor a cure for nCJD, but in early 2003 they downgraded the projected infection rates; tens of thousands of cases of nCJD now appeared unlikely. The domestic beef market had recovered, and even long-critical media commentators said it was time for beef “to have a revival” (Lawrence 2003a). Whether for reasons of safety, taste or patriotism, market surveys indicated that consumers now preferred British beef to imported meats (Mintel 2003). They also worried rather less about overall food safety. According to the government’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) annual Consumer Attitudes Survey, the percentage of consumers who described themselves as “very” or “quite” concerned about food safety had dropped to 68 percent in 2002 down from 71 percent the year before.1 This is still a lot of concern, but the government nonetheless concluded that it had “made some headway” in its efforts to win back public trust. At the international level, however, longstanding food controversies still simmered and sometimes flared. Zambia, for example, set off a round of transatlantic name-calling in late 2002 when, despite impending famine, it refused to distribute genetically modified (GM) food aid from the United States. The U.S. trade secretary accused the “Luddite” Europeans of forcing Africans to go hungry because the Zambians, like other southern African agro-exporters, feared losing access to the European market if American GM corn contaminated their own crops. European NGOs, meanwhile, condemned the United States for using food aid to establish an African beachhead for the biotech industry (Vidal 2002; Teather 2003). Media analysis of this controversy gave little attention to Zambian citizens’ views of GM food, emphasizing instead the striking rift between American and European perspectives on GM foods and food quality more generally. As in past coverage of the transatlantic GM battle, the explanation was partly cultural (Europeans simply care more about taste than shelf life), partly social psychological. The trauma of recent food scares, in other words, had left Europeans suspicious of “unnatural” foods even if “science” insisted they were safe.

The last years of the 20th century were tough times for selling food to Europeans. The competition was fierce, the rules uncertain, and the retail markets picky. It was not just that huge supermarket chains had come to dominate food retailing, and to demand products conforming to ever-higher standards of convenience and aesthetic quality; these trends were common across the industrialized world. In addition, they demanded that the suppliers of those products— farmers and manufacturers, but also a range of intermediaries—meet standards of hygiene and accountability that were unimaginable twenty, even ten years earlier. The supermarkets wanted assurances that none of their products would set off another food scare; too many had already shaken European consumers’ faith in the supermarkets’ increasingly globalized offerings. On the supermarket shelves, these assurances might appear as new labels or packaging, if they appeared at all. What consumers largely did not see was the work that went into providing them with food as certifiably pure as it was pretty. This work took place on farms and in packhouses; in consultants’ offices and corporate boardrooms; in activists’ meetings and chemical analysts’ laboratories. It demanded long flights, short deadlines, and nonstop vigilance. Above all, the work of assuring the overall goodness of globalized food required all kinds of people and things to deal with each other in new ways, and often across great distances. In this sense, it transformed the social relationships of food provisioning on both an interpersonal and transcontinental scale. This book explores how these changes took shape within two fresh vegetable trades, or commodity networks, linking two Sub-Saharan African countries to their former European colonial powers. The francophone network brings Burkina Faso’s green beans to France, while the anglophone network brings an assortment of prepackaged fresh vegetables from Zambia to the United Kingdom. Broadly similar in some ways, they differ radically in others, including the ways that they experienced Europe’s late twentieth-century food scares. By exploring the history of these differences and how they are sustained and transformed in specific places, practices, and social institutions, I hope to illuminate the relationship between culture and power in globalized food provisioning.

DR Congo’s copper belt is south of the dismembered former province of Katanga. The population has grown over the past twenty years due to the resumption of industrial and artisanal mining. This situation has led to an increase in demand for agricultural products including meat. The majority of these products are imported due to insufficient local production. Goat meat is the most consumed of the ruminants and most of these animals are imported from Zambia. Thousands of the goats are slaughtered daily and its meat sold in all markets and especially next to thousands of drinking establishments as appetizers. Unfortunately, this opportunity does not benefit local breeders because of several factors including the low productivity of the local goat, a stray breeding system, insufficiency and lack of space for breeding, contamination of pastures by heavy metals, insecurity, supremacy of the mining code over agricultural law, the dispossession of agricultural land belonging to peasants for the benefit of private farmers … In perspective, the establishment of a collaborative structure between breeders, development agents and technicians, researchers and policy makers in sectors related to goat farming and its environment will provide access to information and improve goat production.

In February 2002, the Financial Times ran a full-page article on the dangers posed by excessive “food miles.” It was written by the editor of Country Life, a magazine dedicated to the preservation of “the British way of life.” Like many critics of food globalization, the author argued that the cheap food policies that originally drove the United Kingdom to import much of its food had hidden costs and posed grave risks both at home and abroad. The article noted that the United Kingdom, despite its experience of mad cow and foot-and- mouth diseases, still imported meat from countries known to be “breeding grounds for killer plagues”—in particular, species-jumping pathogens such as AIDS and the Ebola virus. Despite Britain’s capacity to produce many kinds of fresh fruits and vegetables, supermarkets imported them from countries where, the article said, export farming “deprived” hungry people of land for their own food crops. The airfreight transport of such foods consumed huge quantities of fossil fuel, which drove global warming, which might, the article implied, hasten the onset of geopolitical conflict over increasingly scarce farmland. To avert this dark future, the author called on “concerned shoppers” to use their buying power to “force supermarkets” to purchase and promote more local foods. And, to make perfectly clear who was to blame for burning all these food miles, the accompanying illustration featured two cartoonish characters, one a businesslike carrot wearing the brand of Tesco, the country’s biggest food retailer, and the other a Zambian green bean dressed as an ugly tourist (Aslet 2001). In turn-of-the-21st-century Britain, countryside preservationists were among the many activists who saw the African green bean and “baby veg” as symbolic of food globalization gone wrong, and who called on shoppers to help make things right. The supermarkets that stocked these petite, prepackaged vegetables intended, of course, a very different message—namely that convenient, novel fresh foods belonged in the British way of life, ideally 365 days a year. Yet this marketing strategy had a paradoxical payoff.

This report maps the African landscape of Open Science – with a focus on Open Data as a sub-set of Open Science. Data to inform the landscape study were collected through a variety of methods, including surveys, desk research, engagement with a community of practice, networking with stakeholders, participation in conferences, case study presentations, and workshops hosted. Although the majority of African countries (35 of 54) demonstrates commitment to science through its investment in research and development (R&D), academies of science, ministries of science and technology, policies, recognition of research, and participation in the Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI), the following countries demonstrate the highest commitment and political willingness to invest in science: Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition to existing policies in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), the following countries have made progress towards Open Data policies: Botswana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda. Only two African countries (Kenya and South Africa) at this stage contribute 0.8% of its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) to R&D (Research and Development), which is the closest to the AU’s (African Union’s) suggested 1%. Countries such as Lesotho and Madagascar ranked as 0%, while the R&D expenditure for 24 African countries is unknown. In addition to this, science globally has become fully dependent on stable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) infrastructure, which includes connectivity/bandwidth, high performance computing facilities and data services. This is especially applicable since countries globally are finding themselves in the midst of the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), which is not only “about” data, but which “is” data. According to an article1 by Alan Marcus (2015) (Senior Director, Head of Information Technology and Telecommunications Industries, World Economic Forum), “At its core, data represents a post-industrial opportunity. Its uses have unprecedented complexity, velocity and global reach. As digital communications become ubiquitous, data will rule in a world where nearly everyone and everything is connected in real time. That will require a highly reliable, secure and available infrastructure at its core, and innovation at the edge.” Every industry is affected as part of this revolution – also science. An important component of the digital transformation is “trust” – people must be able to trust that governments and all other industries (including the science sector), adequately handle and protect their data. This requires accountability on a global level, and digital industries must embrace the change and go for a higher standard of protection. “This will reassure consumers and citizens, benefitting the whole digital economy”, says Marcus. A stable and secure information and communication technologies (ICT) infrastructure – currently provided by the National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) – is key to advance collaboration in science. The AfricaConnect2 project (AfricaConnect (2012–2014) and AfricaConnect2 (2016–2018)) through establishing connectivity between National Research and Education Networks (NRENs), is planning to roll out AfricaConnect3 by the end of 2019. The concern however is that selected African governments (with the exception of a few countries such as South Africa, Mozambique, Ethiopia and others) have low awareness of the impact the Internet has today on all societal levels, how much ICT (and the 4th Industrial Revolution) have affected research, and the added value an NREN can bring to higher education and research in addressing the respective needs, which is far more complex than simply providing connectivity. Apart from more commitment and investment in R&D, African governments – to become and remain part of the 4th Industrial Revolution – have no option other than to acknowledge and commit to the role NRENs play in advancing science towards addressing the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals). For successful collaboration and direction, it is fundamental that policies within one country are aligned with one another. Alignment on continental level is crucial for the future Pan-African African Open Science Platform to be successful. Both the HIPSSA ((Harmonization of ICT Policies in Sub-Saharan Africa)3 project and WATRA (the West Africa Telecommunications Regulators Assembly)4, have made progress towards the regulation of the telecom sector, and in particular of bottlenecks which curb the development of competition among ISPs. A study under HIPSSA identified potential bottlenecks in access at an affordable price to the international capacity of submarine cables and suggested means and tools used by regulators to remedy them. Work on the recommended measures and making them operational continues in collaboration with WATRA. In addition to sufficient bandwidth and connectivity, high-performance computing facilities and services in support of data sharing are also required. The South African National Integrated Cyberinfrastructure System5 (NICIS) has made great progress in planning and setting up a cyberinfrastructure ecosystem in support of collaborative science and data sharing. The regional Southern African Development Community6 (SADC) Cyber-infrastructure Framework provides a valuable roadmap towards high-speed Internet, developing human capacity and skills in ICT technologies, high- performance computing and more. The following countries have been identified as having high-performance computing facilities, some as a result of the Square Kilometre Array7 (SKA) partnership: Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Zambia. More and more NRENs – especially the Level 6 NRENs 8 (Algeria, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, and recently Zambia) – are exploring offering additional services; also in support of data sharing and transfer. The following NRENs already allow for running data-intensive applications and sharing of high-end computing assets, bio-modelling and computation on high-performance/ supercomputers: KENET (Kenya), TENET (South Africa), RENU (Uganda), ZAMREN (Zambia), EUN (Egypt) and ARN (Algeria). Fifteen higher education training institutions from eight African countries (Botswana, Benin, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, and Tanzania) have been identified as offering formal courses on data science. In addition to formal degrees, a number of international short courses have been developed and free international online courses are also available as an option to build capacity and integrate as part of curricula. The small number of higher education or research intensive institutions offering data science is however insufficient, and there is a desperate need for more training in data science. The CODATA-RDA Schools of Research Data Science aim at addressing the continental need for foundational data skills across all disciplines, along with training conducted by The Carpentries 9 programme (specifically Data Carpentry 10 ). Thus far, CODATA-RDA schools in collaboration with AOSP, integrating content from Data Carpentry, were presented in Rwanda (in 2018), and during17-29 June 2019, in Ethiopia. Awareness regarding Open Science (including Open Data) is evident through the 12 Open Science-related Open Access/Open Data/Open Science declarations and agreements endorsed or signed by African governments; 200 Open Access journals from Africa registered on the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ); 174 Open Access institutional research repositories registered on openDOAR (Directory of Open Access Repositories); 33 Open Access/Open Science policies registered on ROARMAP (Registry of Open Access Repository Mandates and Policies); 24 data repositories registered with the Registry of Data Repositories (re3data.org) (although the pilot project identified 66 research data repositories); and one data repository assigned the CoreTrustSeal. Although this is a start, far more needs to be done to align African data curation and research practices with global standards. Funding to conduct research remains a challenge. African researchers mostly fund their own research, and there are little incentives for them to make their research and accompanying data sets openly accessible. Funding and peer recognition, along with an enabling research environment conducive for research, are regarded as major incentives. The landscape report concludes with a number of concerns towards sharing research data openly, as well as challenges in terms of Open Data policy, ICT infrastructure supportive of data sharing, capacity building, lack of skills, and the need for incentives. Although great progress has been made in terms of Open Science and Open Data practices, more awareness needs to be created and further advocacy efforts are required for buy-in from African governments. A federated African Open Science Platform (AOSP) will not only encourage more collaboration among researchers in addressing the SDGs, but it will also benefit the many stakeholders identified as part of the pilot phase. The time is now, for governments in Africa, to acknowledge the important role of science in general, but specifically Open Science and Open Data, through developing and aligning the relevant policies, investing in an ICT infrastructure conducive for data sharing through committing funding to making NRENs financially sustainable, incentivising open research practices by scientists, and creating opportunities for more scientists and stakeholders across all disciplines to be trained in data management.