Abstract:
The contribution that food vending can make to the reduction of household poverty
in the Meru District has been estimated against the generation of income by vendor
households, creation of employment opportunities in the sector, and levels of asset
ownership among vendors. The mixed-method approach supplemented data from
surveys, interviews, and observations of 204 food vendors, the majority being
females, this show how important this sector has been as a source of livelihood for
women. Results also indicate that food vending is a major source of self
employment, inasmuch as 81 percent of vendors are self-employed. Additionally, an
increase in incomes among vendors varies between 3,000 and 15,000 Tsh per day;
this contributes to raising the level of household economic stability and increased
ownership of communication devices, means of transportation, and basic home
electronic appliances. Yet, despite all these advantages, food vendors face repressive
regulatory frameworks, a lack of access to finance, a high level of taxation, minimal
business skills, and severe competition. This study identifies that this is what keeps
the sector from making an effective contribution to poverty reduction. The
recommendations from these findings are related to policy reforms for simpler
licensing and taxation, increase in microcredit availability, skill enhancement
training programs, and formation of cooperative structures. These interventions
improve the sustainability and impacts of food vending in ways that enable it to
contribute to poverty reduction in fulfillment of national development aspirations and
SDGs. The research enriches the literature on informal economies and offers
practical insight into ways policymakers could support the informal sector's role in
poverty alleviation.
