What are we measuring? Comparison of household food security indicators in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

The development of national food security information systems is constrained by a lack of guidance on which indicators to use. This paper compares food security indicators across two seasons (summer and winter) in one of the most deprived areas of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The results show that only anthropometric indicators are sensitive enough to differentiate levels of food insecurity. The lack of consistent classification across indicators means that surveys must use a combination of food consumption and experience of hunger measures backed up by anthropometric measures. Targeting interventions is difficult if the measures cannot be relied on. Further investigation is needed to identify a suite of appropriate indicators for a national information and surveillance system.South African Water Research Commission (WRC Project No. Project K5/2172/4), the South African National Research Foundation (Grant numbers CPR20110706000020, 77053 and 80529), the University of Pretoria’s Institutional Research Theme on Food, Nutrition and Well-being, and the University of Pretoria’s Post-Doctoral Fellowship Programme.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/gefn202017-09-30hb2016Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

An investigation of the role of food democracy in food security policy and research outcomes in South Africa

Food insecurity in South Africa is framed by historically and spatially entrenched socioeconomic inequality, and driven by shocks and stresses from a globally integrated food system. Although the government has introduced an array of social protection measures on a scale unique among developing countries, and unparalleled in Sub-Saharan Africa, food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread and persistent, manifesting as concurrent underweight and obesity. Over the years, efforts to better characterise and understand South Africa’s food security situation have generated data and information that quantify problems and reveal broad patterns of deprivation. However, these studies offer few insights into local food environments or the interactions of people with the food system. Policy processes have been neither inclusive nor consultative, stalling progress towards the fulfilment of the constitutional right to food. The purpose of this research is to explore current policies and policymaking processes with reference to South Africa’s poorest rural communities using a food democracy-informed approach. The study is informed by a review of multidisciplinary literature on food security and nutrition policy, social history and current global food politics. Field research and community consultations investigated three specific objectives. The first specific objective set out to explore the potential for structural transformation in policy and the role of food insecure citizens in food security policy processes, using a narrative analysis of the 2014 Household Food and Nutrition Security Strategy for South Africa. The second specific objective explored the food consumption patterns of rural households in four of the poorest communities in South Africa. The study drew on a formal survey as part of a larger commissioned team project and extended the insight from this quantitative data through fieldwork to gather qualitative data. The second objective involved further analysis of the data using a framework of food citizenship to understand the agency of rural poor people in shaping local food systems. For the third objective, the project data were then subject to participatory validation and interpretation with the communities to explore the potential of knowledge co-creation with food security policy stakeholders. Together, the findings of these three components of the study demonstrated why research and policymaking should be more inclusive and representative of the most food insecure. The policy review revealed that, although the state recognises the need for structural changes, the parameters are constrained and processes are unclear, while citizens are viewed not as stakeholders but instead as welfare beneficiaries, charity recipients, and passive consumers. Analysis in the second objective showed that, in spite of many obstacles and challenges, poor rural people are active agents in shaping local food systems. For the third objective, the fieldwork and participatory data validation and interpretation showed the potential of co-creation of knowledge with communities to enrich understandings of food insecurity, while potentially also contributing to solutions to rural food security and nutrition problems. The study concluded that prevailing policy approaches miss opportunities to create transformation through more inclusive processes, which would help the country progress towards the fulfilment of the right to food. Relying solely on quantitative data limits the transformative potential of engagement. Even multidisciplinary food security and nutrition data can be further enriched through knowledge co-creation with communities. As multifaceted stakeholders with multiple roles as food producers, consumers, workers and entrepreneurs and social protection beneficiaries, community members have the capacity to actively negotiate local food environments and shifting social and economic situations. Rural people are both entitled to, and necessary to inclusive policy making, research and problem-solving. Food democracy has an important role in food security policy and research and should be informing approaches to both.Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural DevelopmentPhDUnrestricte

Interpreting food security research findings with rural South African communities

INTRODUCTION : The presence of concurrent childhood stunting and adult obesity observed in poor, rural, former homeland communities in South Africa appears to be explained by nutrition transition, but the factors shaping rural food security are still poorly understood. Localized constraints and capabilities are often overlooked by food security policies, strategies and programs. Grounding food security data in local contexts is often a missing step in the diagnosis of food insecurity. AIMS : This qualitative study aimed to engage members of poor rural communities in generating a more grounded, localized understanding of food insecurity. METHOD : Members of South Africa’s poorest rural communities were asked to validate and interpret food production, consumption and nutrition data from a three-year, multidisciplinary food security study, with the aid of graphic presentations to overcome literacy barriers. RESULTS : Interpretations of food security research findings by communities revealed unique local experiences and understandings of food insecurity. CONCLUSION : Engaging people in the joint diagnosis of their food security challenges generates information on the environmental, economic and cultural conditions that shape experiences of hunger and influence nutrition outcomes, which are not always captured by conventional food security analyses. More inclusive and participatory research could support the design of more effective food security interventions in marginalized rural communities.http://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/gjhs/indexam2019Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Developmen

Considerations for the design of nutrition-sensitive production programmes in rural South Africa

BACKGROUND: Very little has been researched about the efficacy, effectiveness, feasibility, sustainability and impact of food-based approaches on the diets and nutritional status of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity. This study contributes knowledge about the impact of food-based approaches on the diets of populations at risk of hunger and food insecurity in four of the poorest rural communities in South Africa. The study investigated the consumption and production patterns of rural households (278 in summer and 280 in winter) in four sites in the poorest municipalities in South Africa. METHODS: A multistage stratified random sampling technique was applied to identify the communities and sample households for the quantitative survey and qualitative assessments. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected between 2013 and 2015 through focus group discussions (FGDs), key informant interviews and the two-round panel survey to cover both the summer and winter seasons at each site. RESULTS: Home gardening led to a significant positive increase in the consumption of white roots and tubers, dark green leafy vegetables, orange-coloured fruit and other fruit in the 24 h prior to the survey. Participation in a community garden led to significant increases in the consumption of dark green leafy vegetables and other vegetables. School gardening did not demonstrate any statistical relationships with the consumption of foods from the crop-related food groups. Crop production improved dietary diversity. Selling produce and irrigation showed a stronger improvement in dietary diversity. Seasonality affected the availability of fresh fruit and vegetables for home consumption in winter. CONCLUSIONS: Producing beyond that solely for home consumption has greater benefits for dietary diversity and a consumption-smoothing effect during the post-harvest period. Politicians and the scientific community should recognise the role that household and small-scale crop production plays in supporting household consumption and the provision of essential micronutrients despite constraints and disincentives. Production and education programmes should focus on strengthening existing good consumption patterns and promoting the consumption of foods that can improve dietary diversity.South African Water Research Commission (WRC) and University of Pretoria’s Institutional Research.http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealthpm2020Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural DevelopmentConsumer ScienceHuman NutritionPlant Production and Soil Scienc