South Africa’s food security has improved slightly over the past three years, but by 2025 nearly half of the population will still be food insecure, with 48.96% potentially not having enough to eat.
The figures come from new research commissioned by leading retailer Shoprite, and reported by the Daily Investor.
Shoprite this week released its Food Index, which aims to push South Africa to address food insecurity.
Their research shows that Limpopo will suffer the worst food insecurity in 2025, with 54% of the population unsure where their next meal will come from. In the Eastern Cape, 59% of potentially hungry people in 2025 will reside in rural areas. However, the incidence of people escaping food insecurity is improving. In 2020, 52% of South Africa was food insecure. The projections for 2025 show this declining to just under 49%.
According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), it’s easier to solve hunger than to deal with the problems it creates.
As well as contributing to societal instability, hunger also limits economic development.
Where it is not addressed, children’s cognitive and physical development can be affected, ultimately contributing to an ongoing cycle of poverty.
“The numbers in the Food Index are unacceptably high, and the trickle of people escaping food insecurity too low,” the head of sustainability at Shoprite, Sanjeev Raghubir, said.
