This blog post was prepared by FSTS as part of FS4Africa’s outreach activities

Across Africa, food systems are vast, complex, and often fragmented. Food systems refer to the interconnected network of activities and actors involved in producing, processing, distributing, consuming, and disposing of food. Small-scale farmers operate alongside large agribusinesses, informal markets compete with formal retail chains, and traditional practices exist next to rapidly evolving digital tools. This fragmentation creates major challenges: smallholder farmers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are excluded from high-value markets, food safety enforcement is inconsistent, and innovations often struggle to reach broader implementation.

FS4Africa, as an EU-funded project, is working to address these challenges head-on. By engaging with stakeholders across different sectors and countries, FS4Africa is developing innovative strategies with various partners to promote safer, more inclusive, and sustainable food systems. One of the emerging ideas gaining traction within the project is the “mezzanine approach.”

What Is the Mezzanine Approach?

Think of the food system as a storey building. At the bottom, we have the informal sector: small traders, subsistence farmers, and informal vendors who play a vital role in feeding communities but often operate without access to infrastructure, finance, extension services, or regulation: they operate under the shadow of policy. At the top, there is the formal sector, where food safety rules, export standards, and corporate investments dominate. But what about the floors in- between?

The mezzanine approach is about creating that middle space which bridges the two main pillars of a more comprehensive food system. It offers a pathway for smallholder farmers and informal actors to gradually transition toward more formal systems without losing their local relevance. It includes support like:

• Access to digital tools and platforms for information exchange;
• Training in food safety and quality standards;
• Affordable financing and insurance; and
• Better market linkages.

Instead of forcing rapid formalization, the mezzanine approach builds bridges. In FS4Africa documentation and recent events, the mezzanine approach has been presented as a pragmatic tool for convergence. It recognises that many actors in Africa’s food systems operate outside formal channels, yet they contribute meaningfully to food access and livelihoods. By establishing structures that support upward mobility and incremental formalisation, the mezzanine model allows for tailored, flexible integration that doesn’t disrupt existing practices. The approach has also strong potential to foster enabling more compressive policies and enhance regulations through the voice of its  multi-sector platforms.

Why Fragmentation Matters

At recent events like the Wageningen Food Seminar and World Food Safety Day Webinar, FS4Africa partners highlighted how fragmented systems prevent effective food safety enforcement and limit trade opportunities. For example:

• Food safety innovations may reach exporters but not local markets;
• Public health risks persist in informal markets; and
• Smallholder voices and SMEs are excluded from decision-making.

These issues aren’t just technical; they’re structural. And that’s where the mezzanine approach becomes important. It provides a way to converge the formal and informal sectors to build food systems that are inclusive and scalable.

FS4Africa in Action

In Kenya, Ghana and other pilot countries, FS4Africa is supporting:

• Multi-stakeholder dialogues with government, farmers, and industry;
• Policy analysis and mapping of trade barriers; and
• Innovations in food traceability and supply chain transparency, and
• Strengthening human and institutional capacity

These efforts are grounded in local realities. By combining research with action, the project is helping build a resilient “middle layer” where collaboration can thrive. Community engagement at the local level and their ownership of the process and outcome is a core aspect of the approach adopted.

Looking Ahead

As FS4Africa continues to work across Africa and Europe, the idea of convergence will remain central. Tackling fragmentation doesn’t mean erasing diversity; it means building linkages, sharing resources, and co-developing inclusive solutions that work at scale and are sustainable.

The mezzanine approach is just one of many strategies, but it holds promise as a pragmatic, inclusive, and African-led pathway toward more resilient food systems.

Stay tuned to the FS4Africa website for updates on our fieldwork, pilot projects, and upcoming community outreach activities.