Sheryl L. Hendriks

The contribution of community gardens to food security in the Maphephetheni uplands

Although community gardens are widely promoted, very little empirical evidence exists of their contribution to food security. This study evaluated the contribution of community gardens to alleviating food insecurity for 53 community gardeners in Maphephetheni, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, it was found that 89% of these households were anxious about food supplies, consumed insufficient food and were severely food insecure. In addition, 72% consumed poor quality food. Community gardens were unable to solve the problem of food insecurity, but their contribution to consumption cannot be entirely ignored. Improved productivity and appropriate agricultural and nutritional advice are necessary. Land availability needs to be addressed through community and other redress systems to grant communities access to less marginal and more accessible productive land close to water. Programmes to support non-farm income are needed and could provide incentives for increased production.

The food security continuum: a novel tool for understanding food insecurity as a range of experiences

The current lack of consensus on the relationships between hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity frustrates efforts to design good policies and programs to deal with the many problems. Disputes over terminology distract from the need for urgent action. This paper argues that our understanding of food insecurity is incremental: it develops as new research in a variety of food-deprived and nutrition-deprived contexts reveals causes, experiences and consequences and how they are interlinked. If we are to improve beneficiary selection, program targeting and intervention impact assessment, it is vital to coordinate our new understandings. The paper brings convergence to our understanding of food insecurity by introducing a new framework that visualizes levels of food insecurity, and the concomitant consequences and responses, as a continuum. Some potential benefits of using the continuum as a diagnostic tool are increased focus on less extreme but nevertheless urgent manifestations of food insecurity, more accurate targeting of interventions and better follow-up, and improved accountability for donor spending.

Food security in South Africa : status quo and policy imperatives

ABSTRACT Although the term itself was only developed in the 1970s, food security has played a central role in policies that have shaped the history of South Africa from the 17th century. As with the changing international interpretation of food security over the past four decades, South African food security determinants have been interpreted differently by different ruling authorities and governments over three centuries. The Natives Land Act of 1913 played a significant role in determining the food security context of the country in terms of the character, composition and contribution of the agricultural sector, shaped consumption patterns and determined rural livelihoods. While food security is expressed as a national objective in a plethora of strategies and programmes, no formal evaluation has been carried out of the food security impact of these programmes, and there is a dire lack of coordination and no enforceable policy to ensure food security. Any national food security policy will need a framework of enforceable legislative measures and statutory coordination and reporting. This article explores the current national and household food security and nutrition situation in South Africa, and it offers recommendations for a comprehensive food security policy.

Review of the South African Agricultural Legislative Framework: Food security implications

Although South Africa has reported national food security for decades, current production patterns, land uncertainty and consumer preferences put future national household food insecurity in question. Household food insecurity in South Africa is at unacceptable levels. This paper reviews the countrys agricultural legislative framework in terms of food security and the right to food. The review found that South African agricultural policies do not actively promote food security and the lack of enforceable food security policy makes it difficult to coordinate existing policies. The lack of food security legislation means that the right to food has no enforceable framework. A comprehensive food security policy, legislative framework and implementation strategy are urgently needed to address hunger poverty to progressively achieve the targets set out for national growth and development and realise the right to food enshrined in the Constitution.

South Africa's National Development Plan and New Growth Path : reflections on policy contradictions and implications for food security

ABSTRACT Almost two decades after South Africas political transformation, the countrys food security context demands serious attention amidst excessively high unemployment and depressed economic growth. Although food insecurity at household and individual levels is unacceptably high in South Africa, the nation has for decades reported its aggregate national position as “food secure”. This paper examines the purpose and proposals presented in the National Development Plan and New Growth Path Framework against the development requirements of sustainability, productivity and efficiency, reflects on the implications of the proposals on the right to food, and makes recommendations for the design of a comprehensive national food security policy.

Measuring Household Food Security Using Food Intake Indicators in Rural Kwazulu Natal, South Africa

Estimation of micronutrients intake in food consumption surveys has generally been ignored. Focusing on similar households, a household food consumption survey (n = 200) was carried out in November 2004 (period of less) and March 2005 (period of plenty) in rural KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Diet diversity, energy, protein and micronutrient intakes were proxies of household food security. Principal Component Analysis was used to estimate household food adequacy and strength of the variables (nutrients) in determining household intake variation amongst the community. On average, variation in household intake was contributed by energy (62.8%), iron (20.2%), protein (11.8%), vitamin E (3.8%), vitamin A (1.0%), and dietary diversity (0.3%). Linking food intake to household variables can generate plausible variables for measuring household food security.

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

ASTRACT 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.

Household food security monitoring and evaluation using a resilience indicator: an application of categorical principal component analysis and simple sum of assets in five African countries

ABSTRACT Recent global and African food crises have raised the importance of resilience as a determinant of the ability of households to cope with shocks and stresses that affect food security. This article sets out to develop a measure for resilience to provide a concise tool for measuring and monitoring food security in comparative ways across countries. It presents the results of the development of a resilience score tested using Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) household data for five African countries from two different time periods per country. Cluster analysis was used to classify households into socio-economic groups. The first index used Categorical Principal Component Analysis (CATPCA) and the second a simple sum of assets. Both indices were able to detect changes in household socio-economic status over the data periods in all five countries. However, the results for the two indices were not always consistent. The simple sum method results matched the published national Millennium Development Goal data more closely than the Categorical Principal Component Analysis method. The simple sum of assets has potential as an impact indictor for development programmes aimed at improving household food security and as a national to Millennium Development Goal indicator. It provides a simple tool for tracking resilience from data that is routinely collected through multiple in-country surveys and available from national statistics.

Establishing a robust technique for monitoring and early warning of food insecurity in post-conflict South Sudan using Ordinal Logistic Regression

Abstract The lack of a “gold standard” to determine and predict household food insecurity is well documented. While a considerable volume of research continues to explore universally applicable measurement approaches, robust statistical techniques have not been applied in food security monitoring and early warning systems, especially in countries where food insecurity is chronic. This study explored the application of various Ordinal Logistic Regression techniques in the analysis of national data from South Sudan. Five Link Functions of the Ordinal Regression model were tested. Of these techniques, the Probit Model was found to be the most efficient for predicting food security using ordered categorical outcomes (Food Consumption Scores). The study presents the first rigorous analysis of national food security levels in post conflict South Sudan and shows the power of the model in identifying significant predictors of food insecurity, surveillance, monitoring and early warning.

Motivating and preparing African youth for successful careers in agribusiness

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the career trajectories of 66 distinguished African agricultural professionals in order to explore how agricultural education and training (AET) institutions can better motivate and prepare youth for productive careers in Africa’s rapidly changing agrifood system. Design/methodology/approach – Based on in-depth qualitative interviews with these role models, the paper explores the answers to two critical questions: How can Africa motivate its youth to consider careers in agriculture and agribusiness? How can AET institutions better prepare youth for productive careers in agribusiness? Findings – Rural youth enter agribusiness careers in response to clearly perceived rural needs coupled with demonstrable profitability of modern agricultural and agribusiness opportunities. In contrast, urban youth embark on agricultural career paths in response to inspiring science education, particularly practical applications in biology, coupled with emerging awareness of t...