Food Security In South Africa Essay

Food security is when all people have physical, social and economic access to sufficient food to meet necessities for daily life, at all times. Food security is determined by availability, access, utilization and stability, all of which can be significantly impacted by interactions between income, agriculture industry and population growth (Food and Agriculture Organisation, 2009). Population growth is defined as the change in the resident population over a length of time and only comes from two sources: natural increase and immigration. Developing countries, such as South Africa, are more susceptible to food insecurity. Although South Africa has a high per capita income for a developing country, an annually decreasing population growth rate and is a major food producer, an estimated 14 million people, 35% of the population, suffer from food insecurity (Vella, 2012).

Agriculture may not be the core component to South Africa’s economy, but it remains an important factor affecting employment and local supply of food. As a major food producer, South Africa has a strong demand for workers, especially farmers and other food producers. The per capita income of South Africa is approximately $11,181.48 in Australian dollars, placing it 77th in the world, considerably high for a developing country (World Bank Development, 2012). However, the country is also well-known for having a significant lack of skilled workers (Kirov, 2013), contributing to its high unemployment rate of 25.2% in the first quarter of 2014 (Trading Economics, 2014). Unemployment brings a lack of income which affects the access component of food security. The access component is the ability of a household to be able to obtain appropriate food to lead a healthy and activ...

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...a lack of supply that contributes to food insecurity of the 35% of the South African population. This is related to the third component of food security, utilization. Food utilization is defined as an appropriate use of food resources depending on knowledge of basic care and nutrition. South Africa can be considered to be not utilizing their food resources as the supply is sufficient, but thirty five per cent of the population is still suffering from food insecurity.

Food security is a critical concept in many parts of the world, especially in South Africa. The year 1994 marked the end of the apartheid, when South Africa became a democratic country, and the issue of food security received much more attention (du Toit, 2011). Every South African citizen has the right to sufficient access of food, water and social security (South African Constitutional Law, 1996).