This study determined the level and causes of food insecurity of 150 households, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa using the Household Food Insecurity Access Prevalence (HFIAP) and the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS). The majority (67.7 %) of the households interviewed were severely food insecure, the main cause being the abandonment of own food production. Average HFIAS for the sample was 12.41 and ranged from 0 to 27. Most households were dependent on government social grants for household food requirements rather than own food production or food purchases, using wages and remittances. Households in the study area were net purchasers of food, as is the situation in most rural households of South Africa. High levels of unemployment (97.5 %) among household heads were observed in the study areas. In times of food shortages, most households relied on borrowing from shops against future payment. Most of the food insecurity coping strategies used by the households had long-term detrimental effects. The ultimate way to improve the food security in rural South Africa is to increase per capita incomes and/or ensure that households have the resources and capacity to produce their own food through farming.
Link: https://bit.ly/2HNlPks
DOI: https://bit.ly/2HNlPks
related Publications
Journal Articles
Addressing food and nutrition security in South Africa: A review of policy responses since 2002
Accountability and the right to food: A comparative study of India and South Africa
It remains a great source of concern that, as richly endowed as the world is, each day millions of people go to sleep hungry and almost 870 million people, particularly in developing countries, are chronically undernourished. Also, every year, 6 million children die, directly or indirectly, from the consequences of undernourishment and ...