Agrarian reform expert, Dr Marc Wegerif, believes that South Africa is food secure at a national level, but more could be done to bolster food security in poor communities
It is essential to create a resilient food system which supports individual livelihoods. A holistic approach is necessary to create an equitable and sustainable food system which ensures accessibility and fair distribution of value.
We have to ensure the right to food for all, which means that the system must also provide livelihoods for people. A food system that delivers food at the expense of employment will ultimately leave people hungry, which is why solely relying on imports to feed the internal market is not an ideal solution.
Although South Africa produces sufficient food, many people cannot access it. The food system must address these accessibility challenges.
Street traders play a vital role in making fresh produce more accessible and affordable, often outcompeting formal sector retailers. Protecting and investing in municipal markets can provide smaller farmers with access to more markets, fostering a more inclusive food system. Moreover, expanding public markets offers consumers greater range and choice, while enabling more diverse agricultural participation.
Drawing lessons from countries like China, and Tanzania, urban planning should create and protect space for public food markets to help ensure food accessibility. Policies that set aside market space for food selling can sustain public markets and support local economies.
Considering poultry farmers; the smaller local producers often find greater profitability in selling directly to their communities rather than integrating into larger corporate supply chains. Learning from these local networks can offer insights into building sustainable and profitable agricultural practices without the pressures of trying to meet the requirements of corporate supply chains.
The Agro-Processing Master Plan emphasises integration into corporate supply chains, but local farmers often thrive through smaller, localised market networks.
Land reform is essential and needs to be integrated with other changes in the food system. New landowners need access to markets that work for them in order to succeed. Without this, land reform efforts may fail, leaving new farmers without viable means to market their products.
Encouraging local integrated development and supporting smaller poultry farmers can create a more resilient sector. These farmers can achieve better returns by selling at lower prices within their communities. The backyard broiler farmer isn’t trying to compete in the major supply chain. We don’t need to be obsessed about integrating them into corporate supply chains. Rather than forcing integration, we should take lessons from these local systems and support their growth and sustainability, see how they build their smaller networks, and how they grow these networks.
South Africa’s agricultural transformation requires a multi-faceted approach. By rethinking value chains, broadening ownership, building internal resilience, defending and protecting local markets, and learning from local practices, we can create a more equitable, sustainable, and accessible food system.
That is how we can realise the full potential of South Africa’s agricultural sector.
