Research on World Agricultural Economy

Food Accessibility in Grand Lomé, Togo: A Household Perception Analysis

Moyéme Nabagou

Regional Center of Excellence on Sustainable Cities in Africa (CERViDA‑DOUNEDON), Université of Lomé, Lomé 01 BP 1515, Togo

Koffi Kpotchou

Spatial Dynamics and Regional Integration Laboratory (LaDySIR), University of Lomé, Lomé 01 BP 1515, Togo

DOI: https://doi.org/10.36956/rwae.v6i2.1428

Received: 28 October 2024 | Revised: 2 December 2024 | Accepted: 25 December 2024 | Published Online: 21 March 2025

---

Abstract

In West Africa, 110 million urban dwellers do not have access to sustainable food. 22 million are underweight and the majority are overweight. The aim of this study is to identify the obstacles to food accessibility in Grand Lomé, Togo. A questionnaire was administered to 963 randomly sampled heads of households. Qualitative data were collected through group and individual interviews, as well as field observation. Excel spreadsheet and R-Studio software were used to process and analyze quantitative data, while verbal statements collected via interviews were subjected to content analysis. The results reveal, firstly, inequalities in physical access to food: the Fisher test applied to the data at the 5% threshold (p-value < 1.509e-07), indicates that perception of distance from food markets is strongly linked to place of residence. Secondly, low purchasing power and high food prices mentioned respectively by 88.34% and 72.25% of respondents, are the primary causes of food insecurity. In fact, economic poverty particularly affects large families and those whose heads of household work in the craft and trade sectors. More than half of all respondents cite the high cost of animal products, tubers/roots and fruit, while the reasons for this vary according to the respondent's level of education. The acquisition of “tubers/roots”, “livestock products” and “dairy products” is more conditioned by the proximity of food shops, while that of “cereals/legumes”, “vegetables” and “beverages” depends on the price and purchasing power of the household. This information is crucial for planning actions to combat food inequalities in this urban area.

Keywords: Urbanization; Physical Proximity to Food; Food Prices; Grand Lomé; Togo

---

References

[1] UN-Habitat, 2010. The State of the African Cities 2010, Governance, Incil and Urban Land Markets. Nairobi, Kenya. p. 279. Available from: https://unhabitat.org/fr/node/92365

[2] Tiebout, C.M., 1956. A Pure Theory of Local Expenditures. Journal of Political Economy. 64(5), 416–424.

[3] Ebeke, C., Ntsama Etoundi, S., 2017. The Effects of Natural Resources on Urbanization, Concentration, and Living Standards in Africa. World Development. 96, 408–417. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.03.026

[4] Ongo Nkoa, B., Song, J., 2019. Urbanization and inequality in Africa: a study based on disaggregated indices. Urban Regional Economic Review. 3, 447–484. Available from: https://shs.cairn.info/revue-d-economie-regionale-et-urbaine-2019-3-page-447?lang=fr

[5] FAO, AUC, ECA and WFP, 2023. Africa - Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023: Statistics and trends. Accra. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8743en

[6] Van Wesenbeeck, C., 2018. Disentangling urban and rural food security in West Africa. West African Papers, n°15, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/e0c75266-en

[7] Bricas, N., Tchamda, C., Martin, P., 2016. Are cities in West and Central Africa so dependent on food imports? Cahiers Agricultures. 25, 55001. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/cagri/2016036

[8] Allen, T., Heinrigs, P., 2016. Emerging Opportunities in the West African Food Economy. West African Papers, No 1, OECD Publishing, Paris. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1787/5jlvfj4968jb-en

[9] Courade, G., 2006. Food and agricultural policies in sub-Saharan Africa. In B. Hubert and O. Clement (eds.), Can the World Feed Everyone? IRD Editions. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/books.irdeditions.446

[10] Ericksen, J., 2008. Conceptualizing food systems for global environmental change research. Global Environmental Change. 18(1), 234–245. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2007.09.002

[11] DSID, 2019. Report on the preparation of food balance sheets 2014–2017 in Togo. Final report, Lomé, p. 70. Available from: https://www.afdb.org/sites/default/files/documents/publications/togo_resultats_bilan_alimentaire.pdf

[12] Dandonougbo, Y., Johnson, A.A., Gnedeka, K.T., 2023. Human capital and food security of households in Togo. The International Review of French-speaking Economists. 8(2), 155–178. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18559/rielf.2023.2.7

[13] INSEED, 2022. Fifth General Population and Housing Census (RGPH5). Final results, Lomé. Available from: https://inseed.tg/resultats-definitifs-du-rgph-5-novembre-2022/ (cited 20 October 2023).

[14] Nabagou, M., Kpotchou, K., 2024b. Analysis of household food procurement practices from a sustainability perspective in Grand Lomé, Togo. Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology. 8(4), 830–847. DOI: https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v8i4.1464

[15] Lomet, E., Bricas, N., 2017. Study of food styles in Lomé to identify ways to revive the consumption of local products. Summary report, Montpellier, CIRAD-ES, p. 29. Available from: http://www.inter-reseaux.org/ressources/article/etude-des-styles-alimentaires-a?lang=fr

[16] Kpotchou, K., 2018. City dwellers' disaffection for Togolese rice. International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies. 24(4), 1629–1637. Available from: http://www.ijias.isr-journals.org/fr/aims.php

[17] Nabagou, M., Kpotchou, K., 2024c. Urban food availability and consumption in Grand Lomé, Togo: A household perception analysis. Journal of Infrastructure, Policy and Development. 8(1), 7115. DOI: https://doi.org/10.24294/jipd.v8i1.7115

[18] INSEED, 2020. Harmonized Survey on Household Living Conditions 2018–2019. TGO_2018_EHCVM_v02_M. Available from: www.inseed.tg

[19] Nabagou, M., Kpotchou, K., 2024a. Cities and countryside put to the test by COVID-19 in Togo: between overproduction of tomatoes in the Savannahs and shortage in Lomé. Cahiers Agricultures. 33, 9. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1051/cagri/2024004

[20] Guézéré, A., 2011. The obsession with living in your own house in Lomé: What impact on spatial dynamics? Les Cahiers d’Outre-Mer. 4, 565–590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/com.6443

[21] United Nations, 2018. Revision of World Urbanization Prospects. Available from: https://www.un.org/development/desa/pd/news/world-urbanization-prospects-2018 (cited on 22 December 2023).

[22] Fages, R., Bricas, N., 2017. Food supply in cities: what roles do communities in the South play? AFD. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330774793

[23] Suka, D.K., 2021. Urban sprawl and mobility issues in sub-Saharan African metropolises: case study of Grand-Lomé in Togo. Université of Lomé, doctoral thesis. p. 289.

[24] INSEED, 2018. Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS6). Final report. Lomé, Togo. p. 608.

[25] FAO, 1996. Rome Declaration on World Food Security and World Food Summit Plan of Action. Rome. Available from: http://www.fao.org/3/w3613e/w3613e00.htm

[26] Diallo, F., Camara, M., Kondo, H., 2022. Analysis of the theoretical foundations of food security. French Journal of Economics and Management. 3, 11, 363–385. Available from: https://www.revuefreg.fr/index.php/home/issue/view/32

[27] Vonthron, S., 2024. Deserts, swamps and food quagmires: what are we talking about? Network CIVAM. hal-04583013. Available from: https://hal.science/hal04583013v1

[28] Bernot, E., 2018. Beyond the "food desert": a study of inequalities and strategies in food supply and access in Detroit. Urbanities, no 10. Available from: https://www.revue-urbanites.fr/10-bernot/

[29] Breyer, B., Voss-Andreae, A., 2013. Food mirages: geographic and economic barriers to healthful food access in Portland, Oregon. Health Place. 24, 131–139. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.07.008

[30] Short, A., Guthman, J., Raskin, S., 2007. Food deserts, oases, or mirages? Journal of Planning Education and Research. 26(3), 352–364. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0739456X06297795

[31] Cummins, S., Macintyre, S., 2002. A Systematic Study of an Urban Foodscape: The Price and Availability of Food in Greater Glasgow. Urban Studies. 39(11), 2115–2130. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0042098022000011399

[32] Till, F., Ammann, C., 2018. African Cities and the Development Conundrum. International Development Policy Series. 10, 3–25. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/poldev.3352

[33] PNUD, 2020. Human Development Report 2020. New York. Available from: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr_2020_overview_french.pd (cited 15 November 2024).

[34] BM (Banque mondiale), 2021. Macro Poverty Outlook: Togo. Available from: https://pubdocs.worldbank.orgic/en/471581492188174413/mpo-tgo.pdf (cited 8 October 2024).

[35] Schwartz, D., 1964. Statistical methods for use by physicians and biologists. In: Population, 19ᵉ year, 5, p. 1004. Available from: https://www.persee.fr/doc/pop_0032-4663_1964_num_19_5_11377

[36] N'Da, P., 2015. Research and methodology in the social sciences and humanities: a successful thesis, master's or professional dissertation, and article. L'Harmattan, p. 275.

[37] Assefa Sisha, T., 2020. Household Level Food Insecurity Assessment: Evidence from Panel Data, Ethiopia. Scientif. Africa. 7. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2019.e00262

[38] Lemeilleur, S., Angelo, L., Rousseau, M., et al., 2019. Food distribution systems in Mediterranean and sub-Saharan African countries: Rethinking the role of markets in trade infrastructure. Technical reports n°51, French Development Agency, p. 65. Available from: https://www.adf.fr

[39] Robitaille, E., Bergeron, P., 2013. Geographic accessibility to food stores in Quebec: situation analysis and intervention perspectives. Report by Institut de la santé publique du Québec, p. 47. Available from: https://www.inspq.qc.ca/sites/default/files/publications/1728_accessgeocommalimentqc.pdf

[40] Beaulac, J., Kristjansson, E., Cummins, S., 2009. A systematic review of food deserts, 1966–2007. Preventing Chronic Disease. 6, A105.

[41] Crowe, J., Lacy, C., Columbus, Y., 2018. Barriers to Food Security and Community Stress in an Urban Food Desert. Urban Science. 2(2), 46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/urbansci2020046

[42] Gajda, R., Jeżewska-Zychowicz, M., Styczyńska, M., et al., 2022. Food Insecurity in the Households of Polish Elderly: Diversity in the Perception of Its Causes by Demographic and Socioeconomic Characteristics. Foods. 11, 3222. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11203222

[43] Bernaschi, D., Marino, D., Cimini, A., et al., 2023. The Social Exclusion Perspective of Food Insecurity: The Case of Blacked-Out Food Areas. Sustainability. 15, 2974. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su15042974

[44] APUR (Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme), 2022. The sustainable food offer in Paris continues to grow - An overview of outlets and baskets. Available from: https://www.apur.org/fr/nos-travaux/offre-alimentation-durable-paris-toujours-plus-dense-lieux-points-vente-paniers

[45] Merchez, L., Mathian, H., Gall, J.L., 2020. Towards a measure of “food voids” in a heterogeneous urban context methodological reflection and application to Lyon-Saint-Étienne. International Geomatics Review. 30(1), 85–104. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3166/rig.2020.00103

[46] Nikolli, A., Gall, J.L., Laval, M., 2015. Are social margins and agricultural bangs turning their backs on each other? Landscape Projects. 13. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/paysage.10182

[47] Vonthron, S., 2021. Food trade offer and space household supply practices: Building a geography of food landscapes. Geography. Paul Valéry University - Montpellier III ⟨tel-03560669v3⟩

[48] Battersby, J., Crush, J., 2014. Africa’s urban food deserts. Urban Forum. 25(2), 143–151. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12132-014-9225-5

[49] Giguère-Johnson, M., Ward, S., Ndene Ndiaye, A., et al., 2021. The Home and School Food Environments of Senegalese Adolescent Girls. Journal of Food Security. 9(1), 29–35. DOI: https://doi.org/10.12691/jfs-9-1-5

[50] Crush, J., Nickanor, N., Kazembe, L., 2019. Informal Food Deserts and Household Food Insecurity in Windhoek, Namibia. Sustainability. 11, 37. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su11010037

[51] Lancon, F., Boyer, A., 2019. Contribution of food distribution systems to urban food security: a case study of the Abidjan agglomeration (Côte d'Ivoire). Technical reports no 49, French Development Agency, p. 83. Available from: https://www.adf.fr

[52] Roesel, K., Grace, D., 2016. Food safety and informal markets. Animal products in sub-Saharan Africa. International Livestock Research Institute, Nairobi, Kenya, p. 217.

[53] Taylor, D., Ard, K., 2015. Food Availability and the Food Desert Frame in Detroit: An Overview of the City’s Food System. Environmental Practice. 17(2), 102–133. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1466046614000544

[54] Hourcade, R., Mcclintock, N., 2023. Food as a social justice issue: food movements, public policies and inequality. Social Link and Policies. 90, 5–34. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7202/1105087ar

[55] Shannon, J., 2014. Food deserts: Governing obesity in the neoliberal city. Progress in Human Geography. 38(2), 248–266. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132513484378

[56] Smit, W., 2016. Urban Governance and Urban Food Systems in Africa: Examining the Linkages. Cities. 58, 80–86. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cities.2016.05.001

[57] Prain, G., Zeeuw, H.D., 2010. Effects of the global financial crisis on the food security of poor urban households: Synthesis report on 5 city case studies. RUAF Foundation. Available from: https://ruaf.org/assets/2019/11/Synthesis-report-Food-security-and-Nutrition-study-for-UN-Habitat-IDRC.pdf

[58] Meagher, K., 2011. Informal Economies and Urban Governance in Nigeria: Popular Empowerment or Political Exclusion? African Studies Review. 54(2), 47–72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/arw.2011.0026

[59] Drejerska, N., Sobczak-Malitka, W., 2023. Nurturing Sustainability and Health: Exploring the Role of Short Supply Chains in the Evolution of Food Systems: The Case of Poland. Foods. 12, 4171. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12224171

[60] INSEED, 2015. Basic Indicators of Well-Being Questionnaire.

[61] Alkire, S., Kanagaratnam, U., Suppa, N., 2020. The global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI). Methodological note 49. Oxford University. Available from: https://ophi.org.uk/sites/default/files/202403/OPHI_MPI_MN_49_2020.pdf

[62] United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, 2022. Extreme poverty in West Africa is on the rise due to COVID-19 pandemic. Addis Abeba. Available from: https://hdl.handle.net/10855/47664

[63] Millogo, R.M., Soura, B.A., 2020. Food insecurity in urban Africa: evidence from the Ouagadougou population observatory. RETSS. 3(5), 109–124. Available from: https://access.archiveouverte.unige.ch/access/metadata/2462cdf7-ec52-4df6-bcca-1e97159db17c/download

[64] Price, M., Jeffery, T., 2023. An Analysis of Socioeconomic Determinants of the Black–White Disparity in Food Insecurity Rates in the US. Foods. 12, 2228. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12112228

[65] DGSCN (General Directorate of Statistics and National Accounting), 2011. Basic Well-Being Indicators Questionnaire (QUIBB). Available from: https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/migration/tg/TGO-RAPPORT-FINAL--QUIBB-2011.pdf

[66] Fahad, A., Sambou, A.M., 2020. Determinants of poverty perception in developing countries: The case of Senegal. Managerial and Economic Alternatives. 3(1), 540–556. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48374/IMIST.PRSM/ame-v3i1.24917

[67] Backiny-Yetna, P., Wodon, Q., 2009. Monetary poverty and subjective poverty in Gabon in 2005. African Association for Social Sciences. 4(1-3), 1–27.

[68] FAO, FIDA, OMS, PAM et UNICEF, 2023. In Brief to The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2023: Urbanization, agrifood systems transformation and healthy diets across the rural-urban continuum. Rome, FAO. p. 343. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4060/cc6550en

[69] AGRA (Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa), 2020. Africa Agriculture Status Report: Feeding Africa’s Cities: Opportunities, Challenges, and Policies for Linking African Farmers with Growing Urban Food Markets (Issue 8). Nairobi, Kenya. p. 262. Available from: https://www.tralac.org/documents/news/4088-africa-agriculture-status-report-2020-agra/file.html (cited 17 February 2024).

[70] PAFO, 2021. Annual Report on African Food Systems. p. 36. Available from: https://www.pafo-africa.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Rapport-Annuel-de-la-PAFO-2021.pdf

[71] FAO, 2013. Monitoring and analysis of agricultural and food policies in Africa. Synthesis report. Available from: https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/mafap/documents/International_Consultation_Dec2013/MAFAP_Synthesis_Brief_FR.pdf

[72] FAO, 2017. The State of Food and Agriculture: Leveraging food systems for inclusive rural transformation. Rome. Available from: http://www.fao.org/3/a-17658e.pdf

[73] Ouro Bitasse, E., 2022. Urban planning challenges in Togo. Nigerien Journal of Social Sciences. 5, 107–125.

[74] Wiskerke, J.S.C., 2009. On Places Lost and Places Regained: Reflections on the Alternative Food Geography and Sustainable Regional Development. International Planning Studies. 14(4), 369–387. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/13563471003642803

[75] Jouve, B., 2005. Democracy in metropolises: governance, participation, and citizenship. French Review of Political Science. 55(2), 317–337. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3917/rfsp.552.0317

[76] Vara-Sánchez, S., Gallar-Hernández, D., García-García, L., et al., 2021. The co-production of urban food policies: Exploring the emergence of new governance spaces in three Spanish cities. Food Policy. 103, 102–120. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2021.102120