The Centre – hosted by the University of the Western Cape and co-hosted by the University of Pretoria – is a virtual organisation that brings together the expertise of numerous South African and international institutions and over 100 researchers across various disciplines. It is the first DST-NRF Centre of Excellence to be hosted at a historically black university.

Our research is concerned with the scale, nature, causes and consequences of food insecurity in South Africa and elsewhere on the African continent. Thus our mission is to investigate products, technologies, processes and policies that can reduce food insecurity and mitigate its negative outcomes. We seek to make a difference to food security by linking innovative science with critical enquiry.

The Steering Committee (SteerCom) - comprised of the DST, NRF, the Deputy Vice Chancellors (DVC) of UWC and UP and a group of international and national experts - provides governance oversight to ensure transparancy and accountability. The SteerCom's Operational Sub-Committee deals with matters of compliance; while the Scientific Sub-Commitee deals with matters of focus, methodology and epistemology. This ensures that our work remains at the cutting edge of research on food security, while providing the DST and NRF with advice concerning our performance.