Food security will be strengthened when a bold new initiative, is implemented, with the common goal of making food accessible to South Africa’s poor. To achieve this, organisations with skills in agro logistics and farming organisations are being called on to assist in providing households that are struggling to afford food with fresh vegetables and other foodstuffs. A model outlining the roles of different stakeholders, including commercial farmers, non-government organisations (NGOs) and government, will be adopted for this initiative.
This plan was presented when the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, yesterday invited representatives from Food Bank South Africa and the Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) to present strategies on how they can contribute towards assisting the poor in urban and rural areas with access to quality food as a means to guard against food insecurity in households.
The presentations were based on how different parties can collaborate with the department to use their experience, resources and extensive networks in agro-logistics to bring household food security to poor communities across South Africa.
According to Food Bank SA, twenty percent of South African households have inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. 2.8 million households, comprising 11 million people, are deemed food insecure. A further 14 million South Africans are vulnerable to food insecurity.
The organisation further adds that in spite of strong government, corporate and civil society commitment to addressing development issues, there are signs of increasing food insecurity in rural and urban areas owing to a number of issues relating to rising unemployment, food price increases, HIV and AIDS, adverse environmental conditions, a demise in cultural support, and poverty in general. The Minister committed the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries to supporting and working closely with Foodbank SA to address these issues.
During the meeting, Minister Joemat-Pettersson said one of the ways in which to assist poor families is to ask South African farmers to identify produce that won’t reach the markets and to donate this to indigent and poor families for consumption.
“We have to start thinking creatively about how to assist poor, indigent people with fresh food, using the resources that are available to us. I would like to call on our farmers and other stakeholders to donate good food to people to eat instead of destroying it as is common practice in some farms.” It is reported that South Africa wastes nine million tons of food annually, due to inefficient markets and weak distribution mechanisms.
The President of the Transvaal Agricultural Union, Mr Louis Meintjies, presented on “An agricultural revolution and economic empowerment”. His model would, if adopted, provide agriculture with the means to secure food security for households.
The model presented a challenge, a plan and a solution. Among the elements of the model were: a market assessment looking at the basic food market, exports markets, government supply and the general local market. Additionally, the plan also looked at job creation and infrastructure for agriculture rural development, especially in roads repair and maintenance, potholes repair for job creation and farming opportunities.
Minister, Food Bank and Transvaal Agricultural Union (TAU) set out to make food accessible to all South Africans
