Another related area for future research is the exploration of the re-
lationship between nutrition and marketing services, and their combined

effect on the welfare of different consumer and producer groups. Nutrition

studies are increasingly being redefined to include a broader set of variables

instead of the isolated factors of health or total food supply. When sub-

sistence rural households are encouraged to increase their cash incomes by

producing food and/or cash crops for sale, improved nutrition may be achieved

only if necessary foods are available at reasonable costs, and in nutritious

and consumable forms for purchase by these households. If rural food

distribution services are ineffective and high cost, this will reduce the

quantity and quality of products available locally and the real purchasing

power of rural consumers.

 What is the organizational structure at the re-

 tailing and wholesaling levels? What services are

 provided at these stages and what are the prevailing

 price spreads, costs, and investments at each stage?

 What are the procedures for arranging transactions

 and coordinating product flow among the wholesale and

 retail stages of the marketing channels for the

 major foods consumed?

 What are the major problems confronting the more

 progressive food marketing entrepreneurs in the finance,

 government regulations, competition from other entre-

 preneurs (public or private) and market infrastructure?

 Past research has shown that the large and rapidly growing group of low

income consumers in major urban centers of less developing countries allocate

high portions of their cash income to purchased food which they tend to procure

from small scale urban retailers located in marketplace stalls and neighborhood