Seeing that my research is based in a South African province (Eastern Cape), I think that it is important to give you an overview of South Africa’s food system and its challenges. Of course, it runs much deeper than this and there are always two sides to the coin. Therefore, this overview is only a snapshot and nothing more – just as an idea of why South Africa needs to look at transformational pathways for its food systems.

South Africa is generally known to be a food-secure nation; however, the level of household food insecurity continues to increase in both urban and rural communities where conditions caused by malnutrition are evident. Furthermore, South Africa faces a double burden of malnutrition where undernutrition and overnutrition coexist within households and communities. Amongst low-income households where access to food comes with limitations, diets consist mainly of starchy foods with little to no fruit and vegetables. The overall diet of many South Africans lacks the nutrition which makes up a healthy diet. Some of the contributing factors to nutritional deficiencies are the high prices of food, the increase in processed foods, and increasing urbanisation. In more developed parts of the country, there is a likelihood of healthy foods being available, however, the cost of healthy foods is much higher as compared to less nutritious foods.

On the other hand, a study by Temple et al. (2014) also indicates that in rural communities and smaller towns, the availability of healthy foods in small stores is limited, pushing vulnerable people towards unhealthy diets. The high costs and lack of access to healthy foods in rural areas can be associated with failures in the food value chain where the cost of transportation is high, loss of food due to spoilage and theft during transportation, lack of discounted prices to rural distributors and labour costs related to the logistics of food distribution. Therefore, the supply and consumption of bulk grains such as rice, maize, and flour (including products such as crisps, tinned food, oil, and soft drinks) are most common and form part of the staple foods of those who are marginalised. The challenges surrounding rural food supply exacerbate the vulnerabilities of people which may lead to economic collapse, pushing them closer to hunger and food insecurity within rural areas.

Even though food insecurity and lack of nutrient-dense food are rising in rural areas, the same pattern can be identified in urban South Africa; however, more research on this specific area of food security is required. Surveys conducted to calculate food insecurity in urban localities show that 32.4% of people who are food insecure or experience hunger are from urban informal areas and 36.1% of people who are at risk for hunger are also from urban informal areas. With 65% of South Africa being urbanised, many individuals live in urban informal areas, making up a large portion of urban food insecurity. Many of the surveys providing information on food insecurity are at the national level which does not cover the different geographic locations of informal urban areas. For most urban dwellers, food is sourced from formal and informal supermarkets; however, lower-income earners may not have access to the variety found in urban supermarkets due to price fluctuations and restricted access to public transportation. Lower-income informal urban earners are therefore directly affected by price hikes and lack of public transportation.

Increasing agricultural productivity in the poor areas of South Africa can increase household nutrition levels; however, the main types of food consumed by South Africans (including those of the Eastern Cape) consist mainly of starch-based foods and meat. Much of the food consumed lacks micronutrients. The nine groups of food for South Africa are outlined in the table below:

Table 1. Food groups considered in South Africa’s DDS

Food Group

Cereals, roots and tubers

Meat, poultry, fish

Dairy

Eggs

Vitamin A rich fruit and vegetables

Legumes

Other fruit

Vegetables (excluding legumes)

Fats and oils

Unfortunately, most of these groups are not consumed by the poor people of the country, for multiple reasons. Due to this, nutrition insecurity is exacerbated, leading to further vulnerabilities and challenges amongst the poorest communities. The challenge of food insecurity in South Africa affects the vulnerable population the most, in both rural and informal urban settings throughout the country, and is most predominant in the Eastern Cape. To address the need for food security, transformative pathways include the use of indicators and food system mapping. Both of these can be entry points to alleviating the issues of food insecurity in South Africa.

References:

BLIGNAUT, J., UECKERMANN, L. & ARONSON, J. 2009. Agriculture production’s sensitivity to changes in climate in South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 105.

LERNER, A. M. & EAKIN, H. 2011. An obsolete dichotomy? Rethinking the rural-urban interface in terms of food security and production in the global south. Geogr J, 177, 311-20.

PEREIRA, L. M. 2014. The future of South Africa’s food system: What is the research telling us? SA Food Lab, South Africa.

PEREIRA, L. M., CUNEO, C. N. & TWINE, W. C. 2014. Food and cash: understanding the role of the retail sector in rural food security in South Africa. Food Security, 6, 339-357.

TEMPLE, N. J., STEYN, N. P., FOURIE, J. & DE VILLIERS, A. 2011. Price and availability of healthy food: a study in rural South Africa. Nutrition, 27, 55-58.

VORSTER, H. H., BADHAM, J. B. & VENTER, C. S. 2013. An introduction to the revised food-based dietary guidelines for South Africa. S Afr J Clin Nutr, 26(3):S1-S164.