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One of the main reasons that small- and medium-scale producers are often not participating in growing export markets for high-value agricultural commodities is that they cannot meet strict food safety and quality requirements associated with the delivery of their product to distant and more formal markets. These producers face four distinct problems: 1) how to produce safe food, 2) how to be recognized as producing safe food, 3) how to identify cost-effective technologies for reducing risk, and 4) how to be competitive with larger producers who have the advantage of economies of scale for compliance with food safety requirements. At the same time, lower standards are often applied for domestic markets in LDCs. This project examined the export flows of Green Beans from Kenya, Ethiopia, and Zambia to the EU. The study focused on the five research questions - a) any food safety requirements imposed by green bean importers and the national government. b) how producers and exporters meet those requirements, c) are small-holders squeezed out by these requirements, and d) what are the spillover effects of food safety regulations for exports on the domestic market?

Street foods play an important socio-economic role in African economies in terms of employment potential. Although street food vendors come from diverse backgrounds, the majority are female heads of households. For example, a 2003 census of street vendors in Harare, Zimbabwe showed that about 8 631 people were involved in the business of street food vending15, of which 81% were women. Most of these vendors employ other people to assist with the business and thus consider themselves as employers. A similar census conducted in Lusaka, Zambia in 2003 recorded 5 355 food vendors with a further 16 000 people employed by the business owners. It is estimated that the Lusaka food vendors sell about 81 million meals per ann