Food security in South Africa is at its lowest point in over a decade. This is according to the South African Food Security Index 2024 by the Shoprite Group and Stellenbosch University that was released on Wednesday, which was marked as World Food Day.
With a rating of 0 indicating severe food insecurity and 100 indicating excellent food security, the rating had dropped from 64.6 on the index in 2019 to 45.3 last year.
The index evaluated four dimensions of food security, which includes availability, access, utilisation and overall stability from 2012 to 2023.
The index findings revealed that South Africans experienced greater food insecurity in 2023 compared to any other year between 2012 and 2023.
Sanjeev Raghubir, chief sustainability officer for the Shoprite Group, said one of the most concerning observations drawn from the index was that child hunger remains a major issue.
“As many as one in four children are growth-stunted, a number which is especially alarming given the country’s overall level of economic development.”
Stunting among children in South Africa is much higher than the country’s economic peers, according to the index.
“This is comparable to lower middle-income countries such as Zimbabwe.
The poorest households struggle most with both hunger and consuming the desired diversity of foods. In 2023, in the poorest 10% of households, nearly half of households, said they consumed a lower variety of foods than they would otherwise have due to insufficient funds.”
The index found that one in four of the poorest households reported that children in their homes went hungry last year.
“At a national level, food availability declined from a peak of 2.8 tons of raw food per person per year in 2017 to 2.6 tons in 2022.”
The index’s decline from 64.6 began during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
“Inflationary pressures during the Ukraine war period and tough economic circumstances in South Africa assisted in creating further drops in index values to the lowest food security level in 2023, with a value of 45.3.”
The index said that food security in the country could worsen over the next decade if immediate interventions are not implemented.
“To support access to more nutritious food for young children, women, and households, National Treasury must strongly consider zero-rating VAT on certain key food products, especially protein-rich items used by lower-income households.
“Households require substantial support in establishing food gardens with nutritious vegetables and fruit.”
Mervyn Abrahams, the programme co-ordinator at the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group (PMBEJD), said the lack of access to healthy food, owing to high and unaffordable prices, led to a negative impt on the growth and development of children.
“Failure to ensure that children from preschool-going age get adequate proteins and vitamins, in addition to energy foods, means their growth and development is severely stunted. The implications of this include limited growth prospects, and equally slim chances of getting a fulfilling job. Genuine leadership and will is called for in order to make a difference in what is a crisis.”
Evashnee Naidu, Black Sash’s regional manager in KwaZulu-Natal, said that Black Sash is horrified at the declining rates of food security in South Africa from 2019 to 2023 and what this actually meant for poor households.
“The poorest of the poor, particularly the households who survive on social grants, are having to face difficult decisions every day about how and where they spend their meagre means and if and when they can afford to eat.”
The Mercury