Fresh Produce Market Challenges and Opportunities: A Case for the Johannesburg Municipal Fresh Produce Market

Introduction

Fresh produce markets (FPMs) are vital to food security in South Africa. They are key nodes in the flow of fresh produce from primary producers to the end-users and as such, they contribute to determining the viability of farmers and the accessibility of fresh produce across the country. Despite the critical role played by FPMs, there are competing views as to the future of these markets and the most effective means of distributing fresh produce across the country and even regionally or globally.

Rapid urbanization across the African continent and rising levels of food insecurity, including urban food insecurity, make effective urban food markets even more important currently (Baeumler et al., 2021; Balineau et al., 2021). With the double burden of malnutrition, people going hungry, alongside (even within the same households at times) high levels of obesity – increasing especially in cities, access to fresh produce (fruit and vegetables) becomes all the more essential for balanced diets and people’s health (FAO et al., 2021; HSPH, 2011; Willett et al., 2019). It is also widely argued that increasing the proportion of fresh produce in our diets and in the food crops we grow is essential for reducing the drivers of climate change and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture (Benton & Bailey, 2019; Benton et al., 2021; Willett et al., 2019). Rising urban incomes and changing lifestyles are also increasing the demand for a greater variety of foods including fresh produce (Balineau et al., 2021). The National Development Plan (NDP) in South Africa has identified fresh produce farming as an area with high potential for new and emerging black farmers and as a sector with high employment creation potential (NPC, 2011). The nature of markets is one of the factors that will determine if these challenges are met, and opportunities are realized.

It is in this context that the authors write this chapter focused on the Municipal Fresh Produce Markets (MFPMs) in South Africa with specific reference to Johannesburg Fresh Produce Market (JFPM) as a case study and establish how the functioning markets can contribute to the realisation of the NDP goals. In general, municipal markets have been the mainstay of fresh produce trade in South Africa for decades and have their roots in different forms of markets that emerged more than a century ago to meet the food needs of the new and expanding cities in South Africa (Beavon, 2001; Cripps, 2012). These markets are, however, facing multiple pressures, such as shifts in supermarket procurement practices, demands for transformation in what remains a white-dominated agri-food sector, and well-publicized municipal management challenges (Pieterse, 2021; Smit & Madubela, 2021; Staff, 2021). It is essential, given such pressures, that we have a well-informed discussion about the role of these markets and how they function.