VIEWPOINT- South Africa continues to face serious challenges with hunger and food insecurity

South Africa continues to face serious challenges with hunger and food insecurity. A major inquiry into the country’s food systems has highlighted deep concerns over food affordability, the high concentration of power in food production and distribution, and unequal access to land. The inquiry has raised issues affecting farm dwellers and informal settlements, as well as the impact of climate change and environmental pressures on vulnerable communities.

It also points to the link between food insecurity, human dignity, and broader socio-economic exclusion. Recommendations include strengthening access to land, improving accountability among major players in the food system, and addressing the dominance of large commercial operators in production and retail networks.There is growing worry that traditional and small-scale farming practices, along with indigenous knowledge and local seed systems, are being pushed aside by large-scale industrial farming that relies heavily on imported seeds, chemical pesticides, and monoculture crops. This shift is seen as harmful to food quality, nutrition, community resilience, and the ability of ordinary people to control their own food production.

Hunger in the country cannot be separated from wider problems such as high unemployment, rising food prices, spatial inequality, historical land dispossession, and increasing climate risks. These structural issues make it difficult for many households to access sufficient nutritious food.A recent household food affordability report shows that low-income families are forced to underspend on basic nutrition by at least 17%, leading to poorer health and deeper food crises in homes.

As economic pressures increase, the gap between what families can afford and what they need for proper nutrition continues to widen.To fight food insecurity, greater emphasis is needed on food gardening, especially in schools where children can learn these skills from a young age. Access to land remains critical — particularly releasing suitable rural land for communities to grow food.Overall, the situation calls for a more equitable and resilient food system that supports both commercial production and small-scale, community-based farming to ensure South Africans have reliable access to affordable, nutritious food.