Street-level diplomacy improves meat safety in Northern Tanzania
IDReC researcher Jackie Benschop and co-authors have published the results of a study into relationships among authorities responsible for ensuring meat safety and the people involved in meat supply chains in Northern Tanzania. The research was based on interviews with government employees and sought to delve into the contrasting effectiveness of strict regulation vs ‘street-level diplomacy’ in developing countries.
The paper reports that regulators’ hesitancy to act punitively helped to develop trust and positive relations, making those engaged in animal-based livelihoods more open to learning from and cooperating with extension officers and inspectors. This may result in higher levels of meat safety than might be the case if regulations were more stringently enforced.
Access to the full text is available here
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-019-7067-8
This work is part of a broader project investigating Hazards Associated with Zoonotic enteric pathogens in Emerging Livestock meat pathways (HAZEL).
http://livestocklivelihoodsandhealth.org/research/meat-risks/