The study presented food security situation among farming male and female headed households in Eden District Municipality of the Western Cape, South Africa was conducted in 2010. The study was conducted among 31 male and 19 female headed farming household heads, selected proportionate to the size of each group. The household heads were selected via simple random sampling procedure. Data for the study were elicited from the respondents using structured questionnaire. The analytical tools used include the Mann-Whitney test to determine if a difference in food security exists among the two groups, a Wilcoxon test was used as an alternative for indicating the differences in food security. Frequency tables indicated the percentage distribution of respondents based on demographic characteristics. Out of the 12 food security constraints identified, both males and females viewed poor storage, poor market, and lack of credit and land tenure as the constraints that highly affect their household food security. The result showed that 58 percent of the females were between 41-50 years and 42 percent of the males were above fifty years of age. The percentage of male headed households that studied up to college level (16.1) was slightly higher than those of females (15.8). Most of the household heads had between 2 to four years farming experience (77.4 males and 64.4 females respectively). with 90.3 males farming on 3 to 4 hectors and females on 78.9 hector. Most of the farn1ers do not have any co-operative or farmer society. A significant difference existed in their food security status (Z =2.115, p 0.34), with higher mean rank for males (28.44) than for females (20.71). This confirms that food insecurity incidence was higher in female headed households than male headed households. / Thesis (M.Sc.(Agric Extension) North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, 2011

There are an estimated 370 million culturally diverse Indigenous people worldwide. However, among this cultural diversity, there is one commonality that all Indigenous populations share; disparities across all dimensions of health indicators. Food access is one of primary indicators of health and despite this, Canada’s Indigenous population, especially in the North, remains overrepresented in household food insecurity statistics. This research aims at telling the story of one Northern community, Fort Providence, and the experiences around a school-based wild food program. It is written in the publishable paper format and is comprised of two papers. Drawing from approximately 25 weeks of ethnographic research, the first paper uses Homi Bhabha’s concept of Third Space to explain the unique way that Fort Providence youth navigate their local and global experiences. Using three tangible examples, I explain that the space where the local Dene practises interest with contemporary globalized influences creates a productive and empowering Third Space identity for youth. Drawing further on the ethnographic research, paper two gives a detailed description of the innovative land-based school programming that Deh Gah Elementary and Secondary School offers their students. I explain how the food systems in this community are integral to the overall health and vitality of the people. The six primary outcomes which emerged from engaging with community members display how the programming addresses community-wide cultural continuity and individual cultural identity. Together, these papers demonstrate how food systems are deeply embedded into the overall community health and well-being and exhibit the opportunities and positive impacts that land-based food education has for youth and communities.

Food insecurity and malnutrition have worsened despite numerous commitments by African governments and their leaders to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition as captured in the Sustainable Development Goals and Africa's Agenda 2063. Africa's 2014 Malabo Declaration on Accelerated Agricultural Growth and Transformation for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods set out the need to increase agricultural expenditure to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition. However, analyses of the impact of public expenditure on agriculture in Africa have focused on poverty reduction and economic growth, with very little analysis of the impact on food security and nutrition. This study sought to fill this gap with respect to countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC). A panel data analysis for the years 2000 to 2016 was employed using a fixed-effect generalised least squares estimation. Four food security indicators were used, namely, the average dietary energy supply adequacy; the prevalence of undernourishment; the prevalence of stunting; and per capita food production variability. The share of public agriculture expenditure in total public expenditure was used as a proxy for government expenditure on agriculture. The results showed that public expenditure on agriculture was associated with a significant positive impact on the average dietary energy supply adequacy and per capita food production variability. In the study, increased government expenditure on agriculture was associated with a decline in the prevalence of undernourishment over this period. There was no sufficient evidence to show that government agriculture expenditure on agriculture was associated with changes in the prevalence of stunting. The nine SADC countries included in the analysis need to put more effort into acting on their commitments, strengthening strategies to address the issue of food insecurity and malnutrition. The nine SADC countries need to promote nutrition-sensitive agriculture and the diversification of agricultural production to improve nutrition. They also need to increase the development and use of biofortified food crops. As food security is essentially a public good, public resources are needed to stimulate research and development, the adoption of technologies and practices and sharing the knowledge of the benefits of these practices among communities. / Dissertation (MSc Agric (Agric Economics))--University of Pretoria, 2021. / University of Pretoria Mastercard Foundation African Economic Research Consortium Collaborative Masters in Agricultural and Applied Economics (CMAAE) programme / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / MSc Agric (Agricultural Economics) / Unrestricted

Submitted in fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in Social Work at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / For many poor people globally, in particular in Sub-Saharan Africa, food security continues to be a challenge today. Ever rising poverty levels, an increase in the prevalence of the HIV/ AIDS pandemic, reduced rainfall accompanied by changing climatic patterns, environmental degradation, the complexities associated with urbanization, globalization as well as technology shift in the agricultural sector and capitalistic market economies all play a role in the food security crisis. This research has highlighted some of the factors that influence the food economy and related these to the household food security of poor rural dwellers. Achieving household food security for poor rural households requires an integrated approach in terms of poverty eradication as well as deliberate efforts with regards to food production and distribution within a framework of ecological integrity, with an aim of empowering the poor and ensuring that their household food security is guaranteed. The basic finding, and one which impacts directly on the household food security of residents of the Manguzi rural settlement, is that the majority of them consisted largely of households that depended on casual employment, and were therefore classified as poor. However, as a survival mechanism, some households with experience in agriculture from rural areas have resorted to home gardens, as well as initiated group gardens.

Dissertation submitted in the fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters of Arts in Development Studies in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2013. / The aim of this study was to explore how food security at household level is affected by lack of infrastructural and institutional services. This study particularly looks at how these constraints affect access to food and assess the availability institutional services such as the availability of extension services in Ntambanana. The study recommends that improved rural infrastructure and support services sustains food security as well as contributes to the improvement in the living conditions of rural households. The availability of infrastructure and institutional support in rural areas regarded as means of rural development which eliminate problems of access to food and other services. The study concluded that lack of infrastructural services such as poor storage facilities, roads, irrigation system and transport facilities that creates food insecurity in Ntambanana. The general findings of the study reveal that assessment and evaluation of policies that are based on rural development and food security is very important. These include improving communication amongst various stakeholders, creating an enabling environment for local businesses, ensuring the availability of facilities such as storage, communication and transport facilities. This study concludes that the cost effective ways to improve access to food is to assist local small scale businesses to earn cash through creating market for them and invest in infrastructure that lead to improving food security. The results reflect that socio – economic conditions play an important role in accessing food by looking the level of purchasing power in the community.

No description available.

The contribution of own food production to the nutrition of households in two neighbouring, rural, semi-arid settlements was investigated. A survey of a 10% probability sample (n=131) of households in Sekuruwe and Ga-Molekane in the Mokgalakwena Local Municipality, Waterberg District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa, conducted in 2001, provided data on household composition, income (cash and kind), poverty status, expenditure and agriculture, including a detailed account of the types and quantities of food that were purchased during the month preceding the date of the interview. For each household the food obtained from the different types of agriculture they practised was quantified. Protein, iron and Vitamins A and C were selected as indicators to assess the contribution of purchased and own produced food to the food intake of households. Food composition tables were used to estimate the nutrient content of the different foods. To assess the contribution of irrigated home gardening to food intake of households, Drum & Drip micro-irrigation systems which enabled irrigated vegetable production on an area of 36 m2 were installed on the residential sites of 10 volunteer households in the study area. The results confirmed that income is the most important determinant of household food security in rural South Africa. However, food obtained from various types of dry-land agriculture contributed significantly to household nutrition and without farming the food security of households would be reduced, especially among the ultra-poor. Small-scale irrigated vegetable production was shown to have the potential to substantially raise the amount of the Vitamins A and C available to households but did not address the lack of protein in the diet of ultra-poor households and the lack of iron in the diet of all households.

Malawi is one of the least-developed countries in sub-Saharan Africa, with high rates of food insecurity, stunting, and micronutrient malnutrition. Zinc deficiency is associated with a number of health problems in Malawi, including diarrhea, pneumonia, stunting, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Maize is the staple of the national diet, yet the zinc nutrition of maize-based diets is compromised by the presence of phytate, a potent inhibitor of zinc absorption. Phytate levels can be reduced by basic household processing methods such as soaking, germinating, and fermenting, thus increasing the rate of zinc absorption. Novel research on sustainable approaches to addressing malnutrition using these kinds of food-based methods is urgently needed. Using food consumption data from the Malawi Third Integrated Household Survey and the latest models to predict zinc absorption, this study estimates the proportion of the population at risk of zinc deficiency, with a focus on vulnerable sub-groups including women and children. Next, it uses a simulation model to estimate the effects of reducing dietary phytate through processing and compares those results to an alternative simulation based on biofortification. Finally, this study examines the practical considerations necessary to promote improved maize processing using a behavior change communication approach and estimates the cost-effectiveness of the intervention compared to alternatives. The study"'s findings indicate that the initially high proportion of people at risk of zinc deficiency in Malawi can be substantially reduced by processing maize to reduce phytate. Compared to biofortification, the impact of processing was greater for all regions and sub-groups, and the advantage of processing was more pronounced in the South and in rural areas. An intervention to promote these improved methods using behavior change communication and nutrition education compares favorably against alternatives on a cost-effectiveness basis. A thorough analysis of culture and gender norms, the decision-making context, and the drivers of food choice in Malawi suggest that an intervention to promote household-level maize processing can be culturally appropriate and scalable if the context is properly considered. Given these findings, food-based approaches such as household level food processing should be given greater attention in policy and practice to sustainably improve food security and health outcomes. / 1 / Gregory Sclama

Whilst many developing countries engage in sound policy processes on macro level as far as economic and social development are concerned, the day-to-day victual needs of impoverished communities also depend on sound policies as well as appropriate arrangements, which take effect in the municipal sphere. Such needs, as food security, is dependant on the establishment of effective partnership agreements among all stakeholders, including local councils, district councils as well as metropolitan councils; the actual entities that are responsible to create the enabling environment in which food security could be enhanced. In this article, issues relating to food security, partnership models, the enabling environment, and community involvement in this partnership process, are discussed briefly. Public administration practitioners should ensure they contributively involve themselves in this debate. The article concludes by emphasising the need for a proper and structured approach to be followed, of a food security policy is due to be operationalised in practice.

ABSTRACT In the recent times, due to the increasing rate of global warming, the Southern African region, especially, Lesotho has been experiencing continuous climatic change characterized by drastic reduction in rainfall, increase in the rate of dryness and heat, with depletion of the amount of water, flora and fauna resources. The situation has been so for years without many questions and answers with regard to how it affects food production and security in the country. Against this background, this paper investigates the chain of interactions between climatic change, expressed in the rate of rainfall and drought condition, the indigenous adaptation mechanisms and food production in Lesotho. The paper addresses the estimate of drought condition in Lesotho, Southern Africa, the nature of food production activities in the area and the extent to which continuous climatic change has affected the state of food production.