Enabling midstream actors in the informal economy to enhance food system outcomes

It is increasingly recognized by academia and policy makers that businesses and workers in the informal economy play a key role in enhancing food systems' performance by reducing poverty and generating employment, as well as by contributing to food and nutrition security and reinforcing the resilience of low-income households. However, studies into the informal economy have paid little attention to the underlying drivers behind the behaviors and dynamics of economic actors in the sector or their responses to changing socio-economic conditions and external enablers that all affect how food systems function. This article presents an overview of insights from informal economy studies and outlines linkages between the internal structure of the informal agri-food sector, its external functional relationships and the behavioral responses by economic actors. We highlight how informal economy actors contribute to food system outcomes and present an analytical framework to understand their motivations and strategies, showing how they respond to incentives that motivate them to enhance their contributions to improved food system outcomes. The novel framework enables a better understanding of the drivers of change in informal parts of the food system, thus creating new opportunities for policy makers and other actors to influence food system outcomes.