This study set out to investigate the food insecurity coping strategies of sample households from the Embo community in the Umbumbulu district of KwaZulu-Natal. A total of 151 Ezemvelo Farmers' Organisation and 49 non-EFO members were interviewed in two rounds, beginning in October 2004 and March 2005. The total sample included 200 respondents from 176 households. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-economic characteristics, food consumption patterns and application of consumption coping strategies. The study used the Coping Strategy Index to establish the food security status of the households by calculating and comparing the Coping Strategy Index Scores of households. Households applied short-term food consumption coping strategies to cope with food shortages and resorted to short-term income coping strategies when they experienced income shocks. Coping strategies employed by households were effective in mitigating food insecurity. Most strategies applied by most households were not detrimental to livelihoods and did not compromise future household food security. Food insecurity increased the frequency and severity of application of coping strategies employed by households. Households ate less preferred foods, skipped days without eating and ate wild foods. These coping strategies were particularly dangerous to households as proper nutrition is critical for ensuring healthy and productive lives. Food security interventions need to support beneficial coping strategies currently employed by households. Relevant stakeholder like the Departments of Health and Social Development need to target nutritional interventions through workshops and training with vulnerable households. Supporting protective coping mechanisms entails protecting entitlements to land, water resources and productive and non-productive assets. Agricultural production improved the incomes and food consumption of the sampled households. Sustainable agricultural production should be promoted and sustained at household level. The Ministry of Agriculture and local development agencies should assist the community by providing production inputs, for example, provision of vegetable seeds, mechanisation, infrastructure and information on improved production techniques to encourage greater productivity and wider engagement in agriculture. Home gardens could make iii valuable contributions to family food supply and income. The Ministry of Agriculture and local development agencies should give more advice through extension and training services, providing support through negotiation of contracts with suppliers. While agriculture may play a major role in the reduction of food insecurity, attention should also be given to the promotion of non-farming activities, particularly those that can reduce food insecurity. The community and households should actively engage in the design and implementation of policies government policies and strategies for farm and non-farm interventions. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Measurement of household food insecurity is needed to identify the magnitude of food insecurity and assess the impact of development interventions. However, there is no commonly agreed measure of household food insecurity. While researchers continually experiment with new measures, the resultant measures are often complex and include numerous variables that still do not distinguish clearly between the food secure and the food insecure. This study set out to prepare a quick and convenient tool to measure household food security, using common household demographic and socio-economic variables commonly collected through a variety of household surveys. This has minimised data collection costs and assisted national food security units to continually measure and monitor household food insecurity. Food insecurity levels were estimated using data from a baseline survey conducted in a community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Food security was estimated using a number of measures, including food quantity (adequacy), dietary diversity, dietary quality, coping strategies employed and the Coping Strategies Index. The study found that household food availability varied across the two seasons over which data were collected. Only the percentile of sample households with adequate food intakes (one third of the samples) consumed enough food during the lean period when agricultural production was low. Households with inadequate food intakes also had consumed insufficient energy and lower micronutrient intakes during the period when agricultural produce was more abundant. Energy, iron and protein consumption was positively related to the consumption of adequate food. Energy intake was a relatively good indicator of protein and micronutrient intakes during the leaner period. Consumption of foods from three food groups, namely cereals, legumes and vegetables and fruits were necessary for adequate food intake. Cereals were the most important foods, forming the base of most meals, while fats and animal sourced foods were not widely consumed. Diversifying consumption through fruits and vegetables contributed significantly and positively to improved household food intakes. Household dietary diversity and dietary quality improved during the period of plenty. The application of coping strategies was strongly related to household food intake and diversity. Engaging in more coping strategies and having resultant higher Coping Strategy Index scores was strongly associated with household food inadequacy intakes and low food diversity scores. As expected, sampled households employed more coping strategies during the lean season. The strong and significant relationships between the Coping Strategies Index scores, the number of coping strategies practised by households and the household food intake indices (the Household Food Intake Index and Nutrient Adequacy Ratios) show that food intake is a strong indicator for household food security. The Household Food Insecurity Index and the Household Food Insecurity Scale were developed using 13 potential household demographic and socio-economic variables to identify the food-insecure households. The results of these two new measures were correlated with the results of the common measures reported above and found to be useful determinants of food security. The study found that while the Household Food Insecurity Index explained the influence of demographic and socio-economic variables in household food insecurity, the Household Food Insecurity Scale is more convenient in application (easy data management and computation process), and it is strongly related to the Coping Strategies Index scores. Both the Household Food Insecurity Scale and the Household Food Insecurity Index were useful tools to measure household food security and differentiate between food security and food insecure households in Embo Community. More research is recommended to further test the usefulness of the proposed measures in various settings. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.