Introduction / Jane I. Guyer -- Brittle trade : a political economy of food supply in Kano / Michael Watts -- Feeding Yaounde, capital of Cameroon / Jane I. Guyer -- A century of food supply in Dar es Salaam / Deborah F. Bryceson -- The development of food supplies to Salisbury (Harare) / Paul Mosley -- Comparative epilogue / Jane I. Guyer.