Measuring what matters: Building better food data from everyday market realities
Accurate data on food consumption and production starts not with computers or statistical models, but in the markets, village paths, and kitchens where Malawians buy, sell, and prepare food. Maize is sold by the bucket, beans by the cup, rice by the plate, and groundnuts by the tin.
- Markets
- value chains
By Cynthia Kazembe and Lara CockxOctober 23, 2026
Accurate data on food consumption and production starts not with computers or statistical models, but in the markets, village paths, and kitchens where Malawians buy, sell, and prepare food. Maize is sold by the bucket, beans by the cup, rice by the plate, and groundnuts by the tin. These familiar containers are the language of everyday market exchange and determine how quantities and prices are reported in surveys—and hence the basis of our understanding of production and trade volumes, food prices, and diets.
Diverging from the laboratory-like precision of kilogram scales, these informal units reflect the practical, trusted ways in which food is bought and sold. For researchers, however, they also present a challenge: containers with the same name often vary in size across districts, markets, or even vendors. A “5‑liter bucket” may hold considerably more or less than its label suggests, and the contents of a “cup” of beans can differ depending on its shape and how tightly it is filled.