Publication: Building Resilient Urban Food Systems: A Study of the Breede Valley Municipality, South Africa
DOI: ISBN 978-2-87614-846-8
This report addresses the following questions:
i) What is the structure of the BVM Food System in terms of key value chains and activities, and what are the drivers that shape the system? How does it interact with the broader institutional environment?
ii) To what extent is the governance of the core food system territorialized, i.e., is it rooted locally in the BVM territory, regionally or is it predominantly linked to broader Global Value Chains?
iii) How do stakeholders in the food system perceive climate change risks?
iv) What are the main sources of vulnerability in the BVM food system, and to what extent can it pursue more sustainable and resilient pathways?
The report is structured as follows: Section 2 presents the conceptual and methodological frameworks for analysing the BVM food system. Section 3 explores the multifaceted drivers of the food system, including food consumption, the production environment and the policy strategies that affect the territorial food system. Section 4 discusses the food system’s core function, by examining three of the principal food value chains. Lastly, Section 5 assesses the food system’s outcomes and resilience in relation to transformative pathways.
Directors’ Report The DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS) presents the Directors’ Report for the 2023 academic year. Established in 2014, the CoE-FS has grown in stature and prominence on the African continent and beyond. In 2022, the most recent report of the University of Pennsylvania’s Global Go-To Think Tank ...
Background to the study Low- and medium-income countries face several interlinked sustainability challenges. In particular, food systems must provide food and nutrition security, decent jobs and incomes, and adapt to climate change in a context where government budgets are constrained. Agroecological approaches are increasingly recognised as relevant solutions for ensuring ...
Synopsis Transformation of food systems in line with agroecological principles remains marginal in South Africa. In spite of numerous policies, plans and programmes, limited change highlights the weak budgets, segmented interventions and lack of coordination. These problems reflect the power dynamics in the prevailing food system, which is dominated by ...