This movement is challenging the dominance of formal systems and technologies that often override local pricing methods. In many rural areas, buyers who visit to purchase livestock and crops insist on using weighing scales or kilograms to determine prices, a practice that, while seemingly innocent, perpetuates unfair trade.
It undermines farmers’ ability to value their commodities based on local and indigenous determinants of value.
Indigenous grains like Bambara nuts (nyimo), groundnuts (nzungu/amazambani), small grains, and cowpeas (nyemba/indumba) possess unique characteristics and varieties, each with distinct advantages that should be reflected in their pricing.
Selling these commodities by kilograms and tons, as dictated by colonial measurement standards, suppresses their uniqueness. Moreover, these commodities are not only sold for consumption like maize or beef.
Some are bought for breeding, storage, or socio-cultural purposes, values that cannot be fully captured through a weighing scale or monetary transactions alone.
African mass markets provide a space where each commodity can be defined in diverse ways, transcending the limitations of neoliberal formal markets.
For instance, in Mbare Market in Harare, white finger millet can be priced at USD 40 per bucket, while red finger millet is sold for USD 28-30 per bucket. When a scale is used to measure these commodities, it assigns them the same value, yet white finger millet commands a higher price due to its preference among young consumers.
Such nuances in value can only be understood in mass markets where attributes like colour, taste, aroma, and other natural flavours influence the price more than mere weight.
Behind the setting of prices in these markets are calculations that enable farmers to buy other commodities like sugar and flour or pay school fees after selling their goods.
This context is why it is common to hear a farmer asking a buyer, “How can you give me money that cannot buy a packet of sugar?” Such pricing models also facilitate barter trade, where a bucket of maize might be exchanged for four kilograms of sugar. These indigenous systems of measurement and value distribution have deep socio-cultural roots that formal markets often overlook.
As part of advancing agroecology, it is not too late for African countries to decolonize units of measurement by developing and modernizing indigenous ones, such as weaved baskets (tswanda), clay pots (hari), and large gourds.
These traditional units of measurement, derived from natural resources, are integral to agroecology and should be preserved. Agroecological products should not be measured entirely using colonial standards like weighing scales, litres, and tons.
In African communities that have preserved their values, indigenous units of measurement carry an inherent respect. For instance, with traditional beer, there is a standard measurement for the chief or village head (hari yaMambo or hari yaSabhuku).
There is also a community standard clay pot for cultural ceremonies (hari yemusumo), which carries cultural boundaries regarding who can drink from it. Different events have specific measurements, such as a clay pot for sons-in-law (hari yevakuwasha).
These units reinforce social structures and value distribution with embedded recognition and dignity. While beer brewing traditionally had a commercial aspect, there was always a small measurement for tasting, with the village head receiving a slightly larger container (mukombe) as a sign of social values.
Unwritten yet powerful, many African communities have retained these units of measurement, resonating with cultural significance that cannot be translated into dollars and cents. African territorial markets have adopted and extended these traditional socio-cultural units, allowing consumers to engage directly with vendors and influence packaging.
By breaking bulk, mass markets rationalize commodities into smaller units, ensuring everyone gets something.
Women have traditionally played a central role in food systems, influencing units of measurement. Mothers and women know the size of clay pots needed for a particular number of visitors and have the authority to determine the value of chickens or goats.
They understand the value of baskets, gourds, clay pots, and other units of measurement. Conversely, men typically determine the value of larger commodities like cattle and large granaries of grain.
African mass markets have translated these indigenous units from farming communities to urban households, where women's influence continues to shape purchasing decisions and consumption patterns.
In hotels, where most chefs are men, women still play a crucial role in determining how food is packaged and sold in markets. In territorial markets, commodities are often supplied in large bags (50-60kg), and women influence the breaking of bulk by introducing smaller units like punnets, cups, and 5-litre tins.
Women are closer to understanding consumer needs than men, ensuring that consumers can buy commodities in smaller, more manageable quantities without relying solely on kilograms.
Ignoring indigenous units of measurement means undervaluing local systems and preferences. This disregard pushes communities towards an underground economy.
Rather than imposing market structures, African governments should learn from and integrate these indigenous systems, recognizing the cultural and economic benefits they offer. By doing so, they can support more equitable and culturally resonant market practices that honour the diverse ways African communities value and trade their goods.
As we move towards sustainable development and agroecology, embracing and modernizing indigenous units of measurement is crucial. These traditional systems offer more than just a method of trade; they embody respect, cultural significance, and social cohesion.
By recognizing and preserving these systems, we honour our heritage and ensure a more inclusive and fairer marketplace for all.
