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The State of Food Insecurity in Maputo, Mozambique

Author : Raimundo, Ines

Publisher : Southern African Migration Programme

Page : 41 pages

File Size : 48,4 MB

Release : 2016-10-17

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597115

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Book Description

Food insecurity is a fact of life for the vast majority of households across Maputo’s poverty belt. The Maputo urban food security survey done by AFSUN as part of its baseline survey of 11 Southern African cities found that households exist in a constant state of food insecurity manifested in a lack of access to sufficient affordable food, poor dietary quality and undernutrition. Income is meagre and only those households with access to wage income have any chance of holding food insecurity at bay. With a vibrant informal food economy, Maputo’s poor are surrounded by fresh and processed food. Food availability is therefore not the primary determinant of food insecurity in Maputo. Certainly large-scale food import from South Africa and further afield makes the market price of food inherently volatile. But prices for the consumer are also driven down by the fact that there is intense competition among vendors on the streets and in the marketplaces. The real cause of food insecurity is high urban unemployment and a lack of regular and decent-paying work. Among its recommendations, AFSUN urges the city of Maputo to set up a food security strategy that is multisectoral and policy-oriented and based on a better understanding of food flows into and within the city, the operation of the city’s informal food economy and the likely impacts of formal retailing for the food security of the urban poor.



The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020

Author : Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher : Food & Agriculture Org.

Page : 320 pages

File Size : 31,63 MB

Release : 2020-07-01

Category : Political Science

ISBN : 925132901X

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Book Description

Updates for many countries have made it possible to estimate hunger in the world with greater accuracy this year. In particular, newly accessible data enabled the revision of the entire series of undernourishment estimates for China back to 2000, resulting in a substantial downward shift of the series of the number of undernourished in the world. Nevertheless, the revision confirms the trend reported in past editions: the number of people affected by hunger globally has been slowly on the rise since 2014. The report also shows that the burden of malnutrition in all its forms continues to be a challenge. There has been some progress for child stunting, low birthweight and exclusive breastfeeding, but at a pace that is still too slow. Childhood overweight is not improving and adult obesity is on the rise in all regions. The report complements the usual assessment of food security and nutrition with projections of what the world may look like in 2030, if trends of the last decade continue. Projections show that the world is not on track to achieve Zero Hunger by 2030 and, despite some progress, most indicators are also not on track to meet global nutrition targets. The food security and nutritional status of the most vulnerable population groups is likely to deteriorate further due to the health and socio economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The report puts a spotlight on diet quality as a critical link between food security and nutrition. Meeting SDG 2 targets will only be possible if people have enough food to eat and if what they are eating is nutritious and affordable. The report also introduces new analysis of the cost and affordability of healthy diets around the world, by region and in different development contexts. It presents valuations of the health and climate-change costs associated with current food consumption patterns, as well as the potential cost savings if food consumption patterns were to shift towards healthy diets that include sustainability considerations. The report then concludes with a discussion of the policies and strategies to transform food systems to ensure affordable healthy diets, as part of the required efforts to end both hunger and all forms of malnutrition.



The State of Poverty and Food Insecurity in Maseru, Lesotho

Author : Crush, Jonathan

Publisher : Southern African Migration Programme

Page : 79 pages

File Size : 16,89 MB

Release : 2016-11-25

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597123

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Book Description

This report on food insecurity in urban Lesotho is the latest in a series on Southern African cities issued by AFSUN. Like the previous reports, it focuses on one city (Maseru) and on poor neighbourhoods and households in that city. More than 60% of poor households surveyed in Maseru were severely food insecure. While food price increases worsen food insecurity for poor households, it is poverty that weakens the resilience of society to absorb these increases. This report argues that Maseru residents face specific and interrelated challenges with respect to food and nutrition insecurity. These are poverty; limited local livelihood opportunities; and dependence on food imports. Among AFSUN’s recommendations are improved infrastructure as a fundamental pre-condition for meaningful development; the creation of livelihood opportunities within the food system; social safety nets designed in ways that promote economic growth and equity; and free movement of labour between Lesotho and South Africa, which would dramatically improve the incomes of many poor households. The Government of Lesotho and the Maseru Municipality and District can direct both aid and investment into an integrated food security strategy that prioritizes urban infrastructure, livelihoods, welfare and mobility. This takes political will, but the development and implementation of such a food security strategy is well within the reach of the country’s leaders.



The Supermarket Revolution and Food Security in Namibia

Author : Ndeyapo Nickanor

Publisher : African Books Collective

Page : 97 pages

File Size : 38,93 MB

Release : 2017-12-17

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597301

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Book Description

The surprisingly high rate of supermarket patronage in low-income areas of Windhoek, Namibias capital and largest city, is at odds with conventional wisdom that supermarkets in African cities are primarily patronized by middle and high-income residents and therefore target their neighbourhoods. What is happening in Namibia and other Southern African countries that make supermarkets so much more accessible to the urban poor? What are they buying at supermarkets and how frequently do they shop there? Further, what is the impact of supermarket expansion on informal food vendors? This report, which presents the findings from the South African Supermarkets in Growing African Cities project research in 2016-2017 in Windhoek, looks at the evidence and tries to answer these questions and others. The research and policy debate on the relationship between the supermarket revo- lution and food security is also discussed. Here, the issues include whether supermarket supply chains and procurement practices miti- gate rural food insecurity through providing new market opportunities for smallholder farmers; the impact of supermarkets on the food security and consumption patterns of residents of African cities; and the relationship between supermarket expansion and governance of the food system, particularly at the local level.



The State of Food Insecurity in Gaborone, Botswana

Author : Acquah, Benjamin

Publisher : Southern African Migration Programme

Page : 38 pages

File Size : 27,93 MB

Release : 2016-10-17

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597085

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Book Description

The results of AFSUN’s study of the food security situation of the poor in Gaborone show that not everyone is benefitting from Botswana’s strong and growing economy and that many of the urban poor experience extremely high levels of food insecurity. The study, which formed part of AFSUN’s baseline survey of 11 Southern African cities, collected data on a broad range of issues that affect household food insecurity and found that four out of five households in the surveyed areas in Gaborone reported severe or moderate food insecurity. Only 18% were either food secure or mildly food insecure. Income level is a particularly important determinant of food insecurity as most households access food from the marketplace rather than grow their own. The impacts of chronic food insecurity on Gaborone’s population are likely to be considerable unless this problem is urgently addressed. The problem is in some sense invisible because there appears to be no shortage of food in the shops and on the streets of this booming city. The challenge is not one of food supply but food accessibility and food quality. Given that Botswana is one of the most rapidly urbanizing and most urbanized countries in Africa, its example has wider importance for the general study of urban food security on the continent.



The State of Food Insecurity in Blantyre City, Malawi

Author : Mvula, Peter

Publisher : Southern African Migration Programme

Page : 33 pages

File Size : 44,1 MB

Release : 2016-10-17

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597093

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Book Description

Chronic food insecurity is considered to be one of the most important challenges facing the people and government of Malawi. Most attention tends to be given to the rural areas where the majority of the population live and where the prevalence of food insecurity is highest. However, Malawi is urbanizing at a rapid rate and those who move to the cities do not automatically become food secure. Urban food insecurity is likely to increase and therefore it is important for policy-makers to begin to think about this issue. AFSUN’s study of food insecurity in the city of Blantyre, Malawi’s industrial hub, formed part of its baseline survey of 11 Southern African cities. The study established that household dietary diversity is very low with most consuming a monotonous diet dominated by grain foods, especially maize. While the dependence on maize and its availability on the market means that absolute levels of food insecurity are lower here than in many other cities surveyed by AFSUN, there is also a clear seasonality to food security that coincides with the rural agricultural cycle. When maize prices rise, households immediately feel the pinch and levels of insecurity rise. Female-centred households, households with large family sizes, households that have lost a breadwinner through death, households with a sick member, and low-income households are more food insecure than the rest.



The State of Food Insecurity in Msunduzi Municipality, South Africa

Author : Caesar, Mary

Publisher : Southern African Migration Programme

Page : 41 pages

File Size : 21,45 MB

Release : 2016-10-17

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597077

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Book Description

There is plenty of food in Msunduzi, in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal province, but the urban poor regularly go hungry. This study of Msunduzi’s food security situation formed part of AFSUN’s baseline survey of eleven Southern African cities. The survey results show that the urban poor in Msunduzi are significantly worse off than their counterparts in Cape Town and Johannesburg. A third of the households reported that they sometimes or often have no food to eat of any kind. Household size did not make a great deal of difference to levels of insecurity but female-headed households are more food insecure than male-headed households. Msunduzi is a classic case study of a city whose food supply system is dominated by modern supermarket supply chains. The informal food economy is relatively small, urban agriculture is not especially significant in the city and informal rural-urban food transfers are lower than in many other cities surveyed. In this respect, Msunduzi offers the other cities a picture of their own future. Supermarket expansion is occurring at an extremely rapid rate throughout southern Africa, tying urban spaces and populations into global, regional and national supply chains. While supermarkets offer greater variety and fresher produce than many other outlets, they clearly do not meet the needs of the poor.



The Food Insecurities of Zimbabwean Migrants in Urban South Africa

Author : Jonathan Crush

Publisher : African Books Collective

Page : 52 pages

File Size : 38,45 MB

Release : 2016-10-17

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597190

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Book Description

This report examines the food security status of Zimbabwean migrant households in the poorer areas of two major South African cities, Johannesburg and Cape Town. The vast majority were food insecure in terms of the amount of food to which they had access and the quality and diversity of their diet. What seems clear is that Zimbabwean migrants are significantly more food insecure than other low-income households. The primary reason for this appears to lie in pressures that include remittances of cash and goods back to family in Zimbabwe. The small literature on the impact of migrant remittances on food security tends to look only at the recipients and how their situation is improved. It does not look at the impact of remitting on those who send remittances. Most Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa feel a strong obligation to remit, but to do so they must make choices because of their limited and unpredictable income. Food is one of the first things to be sacrificed. Quantities decline, cheaper foods are preferred, and dietary quality and diversity inevitably suffer. This study found that while migrants were dissatisfied with the shrinking job market in South Africa, most felt that they would be unlikely to find work in Zimbabwe and that a return would worsen their households food security situation. In other words, while food insecurity in Zimbabwe is a major driver of migration to South Africa, food insecurity in South Africa is unlikely to encourage many to return.



Food Security in Africa's Secondary Cities: No

Author : Ndeyapo Nickanor

Publisher : African Books Collective

Page : 66 pages

File Size : 23,8 MB

Release : 2019-03-21

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597409

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Book Description

This is the first research report to examine the nature and drivers of food insecurity in the northern Namibian towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva, and Ondangwa. As well as forming part of a new body of research on secondary urbanization and food security in Africa, the report makes systematic comparisons between the food security situation in this urban corridor and the much larger capital city of Windhoek. A major characteristic of urbanization in Namibia is the perpetuation of rural-urban linkages through informal rural-to-urban food remittances. This survey found that 55% of households in the three towns receive food from relatives in rural areas. Urban households also farm in nearby rural areas and incorporate that agricultural produce into their diets. The survey showed that over 90% of households in the three towns patronize supermarkets, which is a figure far higher than for any other food source. Overall, food security is better in Namibias northern towns than in Windhoek, where levels of food insecurity are particularly high. However, just because the food insecurity situation is less critical in the north, the majority of households in the urban corridor are not food secure. Like Windhoek, these towns also have considerable income and food security inequality, with households in the informal settlements at greatest risk of chronic food insecurity.



Food Security in Africa's Secondary cities

Author : Liam Riley

Publisher : African Books Collective

Page : 70 pages

File Size : 16,89 MB

Release : 2018-04-29

Category : Social Science

ISBN : 1920597352

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Book Description

This report marks the first stage of AFSUNs goal of expanding knowledge about urban food systems and experiences of household food insecurity in secondary African cities. It contributes to an understanding of poverty and sustainability in Mzuzu, Malawi, through the lens of household food security. The focus on food as an urban issue not only speaks to the development challenges presented by urbanization, but it also brings a fresh perspective to debates about food security in Malawi. The urban setting highlights the changing food system in Malawi where people in rural and urban areas are increasingly reliant on cash income to buy food. The reports key findings include that the most vulner- able households are those without a formal wage income, households headed by older people, especially older women, and households that are not able to produce food in the rural areas. The research also shows that the food system is dynamic and diverse, with households accessing food from a variety of formal and informal food sources and relying on rural-urban linkages for urban survival. Urban and rural agriculture are important features of the food system, but there is little evidence that these are the self-help responses to poverty that advocates for urban agriculture in Africa sometimes imply.