<p>The food security crisis which gripped the sub Sahara Africa after the drought in 1999/2000 threatened development initiatives in these countries. Zimbabwe&rsquo / s situation has since worsened and the country has failed to recuperate from the food problems, even after an improvement in the climatic conditions. International and local food aid activities then became a priority in the fight to sustain the right to food for the affected regions. It is argued in this research that if food aid is distributed on the basis of need it will enable the vulnerable populations recuperate form food insecurity problems. It is also postulated that if well implemented, food aid programmes are also able to play the dual role of averting starvation and leading to long term development. This thesis departs from the allegations of food aid politicisation in Zimbabwe.</p> <p><br /> Using the rational choice and neopatrimonial theories of individual behaviour, this research endeavored to ascertain whether political decisions influenced the government food aid distributions which were conducted through the Grain Marketing Board. In line with these theories, it is argued in this study that politicians behave in a manner that maximizes the fulfillment of their individual needs rather than the needs of the people who vote them in positions of power.</p> <p><br /> A qualitative approach was adopted in this study and data was gathered through household interviews in the Seke and Goromonzi districts of the Mashonaland East province in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with food aid experts from the governmental and non governmental organisations dealing with food security issues in Zimbabwe.</p>

The study found that there is marked poverty in Lekoko village, and that food security is lacking. Purchasing power of household commodities and consumables is observed to be non-existent. Agriculture as a form of food security has eluded many because of drought. All those who practised subsistence fanning are unable to do so. Food security is greatly impaired; the people cannot access sufficient aid and nutritious food. This includes the problem of food production, preservation and storage. The projects and programmes initiated by the Government to alleviate poverty do not reach the people. Substantial changes are needed to expedite the distribution of food Production resources. Formal and informal institutions should be involved in bringing about transformation of the structures, which are currently blocking the socio-economic. Premium access to information and social networks as well as to the State should be improved. The onus rests with extension officers to support the people and bring about generation of livelihoods with institutional reform to reduce vulnerability and risks. / M.A. (Peace Studies and International Relations) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2005

<p>The food security crisis which gripped the sub Sahara Africa after the drought in 1999/2000 threatened development initiatives in these countries. Zimbabwe&rsquo / s situation has since worsened and the country has failed to recuperate from the food problems, even after an improvement in the climatic conditions. International and local food aid activities then became a priority in the fight to sustain the right to food for the affected regions. It is argued in this research that if food aid is distributed on the basis of need it will enable the vulnerable populations recuperate form food insecurity problems. It is also postulated that if well implemented, food aid programmes are also able to play the dual role of averting starvation and leading to long term development. This thesis departs from the allegations of food aid politicisation in Zimbabwe.</p> <p><br /> Using the rational choice and neopatrimonial theories of individual behaviour, this research endeavored to ascertain whether political decisions influenced the government food aid distributions which were conducted through the Grain Marketing Board. In line with these theories, it is argued in this study that politicians behave in a manner that maximizes the fulfillment of their individual needs rather than the needs of the people who vote them in positions of power.</p> <p><br /> A qualitative approach was adopted in this study and data was gathered through household interviews in the Seke and Goromonzi districts of the Mashonaland East province in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with food aid experts from the governmental and non governmental organisations dealing with food security issues in Zimbabwe.</p>

This thesis analyses the food crisis in sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s and 1990s, identifies roots of the problem, and proposes strategies of sustainable development based on self-sufficiency in food production for domestic needs. The main goal of this research has been to devise development strategies centered on development of the food production sector. The thesis strongly suggests that countries of the region should consider developing the food production sector to experience any meaningful development, and to escape a dark future of food shortages and food dependency on developed economies. Investigation into Development Economics, Dependency, Underdevelopment, and Modernization theories has provided a basis to justify that improvement of the food production sector is an urgent necessity for sub-Saharan African countries. The thesis uses a comparative analytical methodology based on a historical study of Kenya from the colonial period to the 1990s. The food crisis is identified as a common problem for many countries in sub-Saharan Africa and its general causes are investigated: ( 1) low output productivity of traditional methods and technology, (2) harsh ecological environment with frequent droughts and soil erosion, (3) neglect of food production in the policies and priorities of governments, ( 4) poor marketing and distribution of foodstuffs, (5) fast population growth. Kenya is then used as a model to confirm the hypothesis that roots of the crisis are strongly linked to the colonial setting of these economies as cash crop and raw material producers. Also, neglect of the food production sector in government policy is matched in the Kenyan case. Kenya's food crisis can be explained by two sets of factors. On the input side of the food production sector, reasons found were ( 1) government emphasis on cash crops to the neglect of food production, and (2) underdeveloped technology and agricultural methods used in food production. On the output side, food shortages are due to ( 1) an inefficient marketing and distribution system, (2) inefficient pricing policies, and (3) fast population growth. A model of five solutions is presented which puts emphasis, on the input side, on (1) a shift of policies from cash crop production to accommodate food crop production as a viable economic development policy, (2) curbing food imports, and (3) boosting domestic food production by empowering women, attracting men to the food production activity, reorganizing production, and improving agricultural technology and methods. On the output side the solutions call for ( 4) reorganizing and improving the distribution, and marketing, and pricing of foodstuffs, and (5) developing rural economies around the food production sector and the agribusiness industry.

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The objectives of the research was to critically analyse arguments for and against agricultural trade liberalization and its impact on food security, investigating the nexus between the three pillars of agriculture and food security, considering how the Agreement on Agriculture and the Food Aid Convention addressed the concerns that were raised by the different parties during the negotiation period, and finally it considered how the current multilateral negotiations in agriculture can provide a secure framework within which developing African countries can pursue effective policies to ensure their food security.

The objectives of the research was to critically analyse arguments for and against agricultural trade liberalization and its impact on food security, investigating the nexus between the three pillars of agriculture and food security, considering how the Agreement on Agriculture and the Food Aid Convention addressed the concerns that were raised by the different parties during the negotiation period, and finally it considered how the current multilateral negotiations in agriculture can provide a secure framework within which developing African countries can pursue effective policies to ensure their food security.

Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / Africa is the continent where home sapiens was born and with its worn out soils, fitful rain and rising population could very well provide a glimpse of our species’ future. The trends that are behind the current deterioration in food security go far beyond agriculture itself. South Africa is food secure at a national level and has been meeting its food needs from domestic sources in the past twenty years. However, in spite of its food secure status, 35% or 14.3 million South Africans are vulnerable to food insecurity. Food security challenges appear to be considerable against a backdrop of a South Africa being a net importer of wheat together with local cereal production that can fluctuate by up to 36% between years. It is unknown to what extend the true impact of climate change might affect this and other agricultural activity; a declining indigenous population as the HIV/AIDS pandemic takes effect; a population poorly endowed with an entitlement to gain access to sufficient food and nutrition; a dependency on oil for energy resulting in an outflow of foreign exchange, expensive agriculture and agricultural crops changed into fuel crops and markets that allocates the limited resources, but not feeding the needy poor. Considering the above, the determinants of food security for South Africa were grouped under the following headings: - Entitlement - Demography - Agriculture - Energy - Climate change - Markets. Nobody who has money to pay for food is starving therefore, given the pervasiveness of malnutrition, the money made by merchants in the food trade does seem an affront to common notions of economic justice. The economic and political point is missed when merchants are blamed for conditions that promoted huge food imports and malnutrition. Merchants are not interested in famine but in commercial markets. These merchants thrive upon a system that excludes the hungry. Recent protectionist behaviour by food export countries and the structural shift in the demand of food require South Africa to evaluate its food security determinants. South Africa requires accurate policies to guide its food security efforts towards 2030.

This study examines rural household food security and its determinants in drought-prone Amhara Region of Ethiopia by focusing on Lay Gaint district as a case study site. A range of factors from physical environmental circumstances to policy and institutions-related issues determine households‟ vulnerability to food insecurity and livelihood outcomes. The survey results showed that the majority (74%) of the sampled households experienced food insecurity. The situation was worse among female-headed households such that 86% of them were food insecure. The study revealed that, despite the low level of productivity related to local environmental constraints, rural livelihoods remain undiversified with small scale rain-fed agriculture to provide the primary source of livelihood for the large majority of households (~93% of respondents). Only about 25% of the respondents participated in some form of non-farm or off-farm activities, but with only little contribution to their total annual incomes. Food insecurity is a chronic problem in that, on average, households in the study area consume from own production for only about six months. The study found out that the majority of households (about 80%) perceived annual rainfall to be inadequate to support the growing of crops and grazing of animals. The main adaptive strategies employed by the majority of households included diversifying livestock kept, planting trees and diversifying crops. The study revealed that incidence, depth and severity of food insecurity of the food insecure households showed that Woina-Dega and Kolla agro-ecologies are prone to vulnerability to food insecurity. This suggests that development interventions that are geographically differentiated; and build household assets will improve household food security in the study area, and in other similar environments in the country. / Geography / D.Phil.