Analysis of informal traders’ knowledge and compliance level of sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) in fruits and vegetables in the city of Tshwane, South Africa

Abstract

Sanitary and phytosanitary measures are intended to allow countries to protect the health of animals, humans and plants. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) may require pest-free products to be inspected, treated, tested and processed. Countries can issue a general authorisation for the import of agricultural products or require an import permit with specific requirements to enforce SPS measures. Invasive agricultural pests have the potential to be carried by fresh fruits and vegetables. Quarantine pests can be introduced into a new area via consignment movements or transportation. Currently, the focus in South Africa is primarily on pest movement control at international ports of entry, rather than movement control from one province to the next. If fruit and vegetable informal traders are unfamiliar with SPS measures, quarantined pests that have never occurred before can easily be introduced in a pest-free area. The main objective of the study was to analyse informal traders’ knowledge and compliance level of sanitary and phytosanitary measures for fruits and vegetables in the City of Tshwane, South Africa. The study was carried out in the City of Tshwane (CoT), which is in the Gauteng province. The four suburbs targeted were Arcadia, Sunnyside, Pretoria Central and Marabastad. A sample of 210 informal traders were drawn from the population of 458 registered fruit and vegetable informal traders in the City of Tshwane. The informal fruits and vegetable traders in Tshwane were sampled using a stratified random sampling method. A semi-structured questionnaire validated and piloted was used to collect primary data. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed on the data. Findings of the descriptive statistics show the following: more females (53.3%) are trading in the streets than males (46.2%); the 30–39 age group dominated the informal trading (34.3%), followed by the 21–29 age group (30%); South Africans dominate in the informal trading in the city (56.7%); married participants account for 48,6%, single participants covered 43.3%; 5.7% of the traders have primary education, while 53.3% have secondary education, national certificate holders were 36.2%, and tertiary qualification holders were 4.8%; 55% of informal traders trade with both fruits and vegetables, while 29% trade only with fruits and 15.7% trade only with vegetables; only 23.3% of the informal traders have valid trading license; 26% of informal traders are members of a union, while 74% are not members of any union; 90% of informal traders prefer to buy stock from the market, while 10% prefer to buy directly from the growers; 81.9% of traders were making profit; 63.3% are familiar with quarantine pests; 30.5% of traders did not have access to quarantine pest information, 18.1% relied on television for information, 4,3% relied on the radio for information, while 46,2% relied on word of mouth; 91% destroy pests, while 9% repel pests; 44.3% of the traders cover their products with a cloth, 48.1% cover their produce with a box, and 7.1% store the produce in cool temperatures (shade), while only 0.5% spray chemicals; 98.6% of traders were never trained in pest identification; 93.8% of traders had never heard of pest surveillance in Tshwane; 37% of participants understood the concept of phytosanitary measures as more about plant health regulation, 50% of informal traders understood it as a food safety issue, and 13% of traders did not understand phytosanitary measures; 95,2% inspect their products, 4,3% treat them, and 0.5% test their products; 79% said their products were inspected by quality inspectors, plant health inspectors (10%) and other private entities, like Prokon (11%); 24.7% of traders did not have any marking requirements on products, 52,4% had a production unit code (PUC), while 21.4% had the pack house code (PHC) and 1% of traders’ packaging bore the food business organisation logo (FBO); 54,4% of informal traders use open trucks, 8,6% use trucks with an open canopy, 0.5% use refrigerated trucks, and 37,6% use other methods such as trollies, because the distance is very short and they found it to be cheaper; 28% of informal traders were aware of a removal permit, 99% of informal traders did not have a removal permit; 74% of informal traders are unaware of the purpose of the removal permit; 38% think lack of a removal permit would not affect their business; 54% of traders said no one requested it, 45% said no one told them about it, and only 1% said they didn't have the money for it; 64% of informal traders in Tshwane never received government support services, while just over a quarter (29%) received them only occasionally, and only 7% received them always. The ordered logistic model was used to analyse the determinants of the level of knowledge of fruit and vegetable pests among the informal traders. Significant variables from the analysis were trading area, stall ownership, pest surveillance and pest disposal. The binary logistic regression model was used to analyse factors influencing the use of removal permit among the informal traders in the City of Tshwane. The significant variables from the analysis were gender, age, country of origin and pest sampling. The Tobit regression model was used to analyse factors influencing SPS compliance among the informal fruit and vegetable traders in the city. The significant variables from the analysis were pest identification training, phytosanitary practice, product challenges and removal permit. The study recommends that interventions aimed at improving knowledge level, awareness and compliance among the informal traders in the city should be informed by the afore-mentioned significant variables of the study. The government departments, such as the Tshwane municipality and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), should collaborate to train informal traders on the use of removal permits, make them aware of phytosanitary measures and train them to recognise pest symptoms. A model was developed to promote informal fruits and vegetable traders’ SPS knowledge and awareness, which will be key when designing relevant municipality intervention programmes in SPS measures.