Is food insecurity most usefully examined as a phenomenon in itself, or in conjunction with broader issues of poverty and marginalization? This paper examines this question, as well as the means available to address food insecurity and the types of structural factors and institutional role-players involved. It analyzes the frameworks of food security and food sovereignty at the international, regional, and national levels and summarizes key questions and challenges related to realizing food security and food sovereignty in South Africa. It concludes that interventions which aim primarily to increase agricultural production or facilitate market integration have a poor track record of promoting secure entitlements to food, and that state-level food security strategies must be comprehensive and inter-departmental, but should entail implementation that is distinct from more general poverty reduction and social assistance programs. It also recommends the passage of framework legislation and implementation of the Food and Agriculture Organization’s voluntary guidelines to support the realization of the right to food, but cautions that there are limitations to a legal approach which appeals to the state for access to food but which stops short of pushing for greater autonomy over choices related to food production and consumption.

Written by Rebecca Burns

Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference
Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO)