food security

While some regions around the world battle with increasing obesity, much of Africa continues to experience severe food shortages, as millions of African people suffer daily from hunger. The reality of food shortages in Africa is well-known. So well known, in fact, that the average middle-class fast food eating person is generally unable to feel anything but blasé about it. There are many others, however, who do try to help, and countless organisations and programmes working to provide food for the hungry.

Against the backdrop of October’s International Day for Rural Women (15 October) and World Food Day (16 October), this month’s newsletter argues that the continuous provision of food to hungry Africans needs to be systematically replaced by initiatives that will empower them to produce (and keep producing) their own food, even in the face of climate change, the global economic slowdown and conflict. Women, who form the heart of every community, represent the perfect gateway for such empowering initiatives to reach and transform communities. Simply providing food support, instead of enabling food production, creates and encourages dependency on food provision and feeds the image of hungry Africans as hopeless victims in need of care and support. Utilising and empowering women farmers by routinely placing them at the centre of food production initiatives could have long term effects that will ripple outwards from the women to their families, communities and society at large.

World hunger

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, Vice-President of Policy and Partnerships at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, believes that Africans cannot be fully free “until we end the chronic hunger that afflicts nearly 220 million Africans every day” (‘20 Million People At Risk of Famine’ The New Vision, 22 October 2009). International aid agency, ActionAid, released a report on 16 October entitled, ‘Who's really fighting hunger’, which questions why one billion people across the globe suffer from hunger. “Over one billion people - a sixth of humanity - don't have enough to eat. Almost a third of the world's children are growing up malnourished. This is perhaps one of the most shameful achievements of recent history, since there is no good reason for anyone to go hungry in today's world,” the organisation says.

ActionAid’s report pinpoints the major cause of world hunger: “Hunger begins with inequality - between men and women, and between rich and poor. It grows because of perverse policies that treat food purely as a commodity, not a right. It is because of these policies that most developing countries no longer grow enough to feed themselves, and that their farmers are among the hungriest and poorest people in the world. Meanwhile, the rich world battles growing obesity.”

Women at the heart of communities

Women are a good starting point for food production empowerment initiatives. Many women put their families ahead of themselves, including when it comes to eating. They will therefore let their children eat the available food, and/or will be expected to eat last and thus least. Inequalities between people affect their access to food. Inequalities between men and women, whether a product of economics, ‘culture’ or both, certainly mean that women work hardest to produce food and obtain water, yet benefit from their work least because they have less power over the resources they produce, and ultimately take responsibility for.

The crux of the matter is then that because women are considered caregivers, they should be the ones to be empowered to perform their roles even better. Women can be caregivers and responsible decision-makers at the same time. Of course men are also caregivers, but in many cases they also have beneficial defined property rights and access to credit, which makes it much easier for them to produce food than it is for women in many places on the African content.

Sustainable solutions to food shortages

Oxfam also released a report in October, titled ‘Band Aids and Beyond’, which details the need for sustainable solutions to food production challenges, such as recurring droughts, by using approaches that are more cost-effective, sustainable and better suited to the population (IRIN News, ‘Drought Need Not Mean Hunger And Destitution’, 22 October 2009). Referring specifically to Ethiopia, the report argues that band aid-like temporary solutions to food crises are reactionary and a waste of resources because they do not offer long-term sustainable solutions to recurring food shortages. “We cannot make the rains come, but there is much more that we can do to break the cycle of drought-driven disaster in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. Food aid offers temporary relief and has kept people alive in countless situations, but does not tackle the underlying causes that continue to make people vulnerable to disaster year after year,” said Penny Lawrence, Oxfam's International Director.

“Donors need to shift their approach, and help to give communities the tools to tackle disasters before they strike… Drought does not need to mean hunger and destitution. If communities have irrigation for crops, grain stores and wells to harvest rains then they can survive despite what the elements throw at them,” Lawrence added. The report calls on donors to focus on programmes that manage the risk of disaster before it strikes. Such strategies include the building and maintenance of wells that harvest rain during the wet seasons, early warning systems, creating strategically positioned stockpiles of food, medicine and other items, and irrigation programmes.

Dr Adesina notes that an African policy revolution is necessary to lead Africa to full independence - in other words, independence from food imports and food aid. Africa needs home-grown policies that correspond to its priorities, Adesina says. African agriculture needs massive investments, so that the whole infrastructure that facilitates food production is able to support the results of a policy revolution.

Women farmers need first and foremost secure land and property rights. This was one of the important points raised by many during their celebrations of the International Day for Rural Women in October. Food Rights Policy Advisor for Action Aid, Ghana, Nii Naaku Mensah, noted that fair, friendly and favourable policies for women farmers need to be formulated and implemented as soon as possible(GNA, ‘Women still need favourable policies’, 20 October 2009). He stated that in spite of the vital role that women play in society, they lack the power to secure land rights and access to vital services such as credit, extension services, technical input, training and education. Policy changes could thus contribute tremendously to the training and financial support of women farmers and the infrastructure they need to produce food for their communities.

Focus on women to end hunger

Women farmers in Africa are certainly a big part of the solution to the famine that plagues the continent. They are the ones who have access to their communities and could easily distribute produce to local markets, thus minimising transport costs. These women need to be actively approached, however, before they will be able to start producing more food on a regular basis. Policy makers need to keep in mind that all processes of production and economy have gendered dimensions, and that women have the potential to transform their communities through farming initiatives. Of course, the actual design and implementation of funding and interventions are much more complicated than what can be elaborated on here, but this month’s newsletter represents the inclination, the awareness and hopefully something that will grow to a global desire to end world hunger and empowering women at the same time.

Charlotte Sutherland is Research Manager: Gender Issues in Africa at Consultancy Africa Intelligence (charlotte.sutherland@consultancyafrica.com). The November edition of the Gender Issues in Africa Newsletter is republished here with permission from Consultancy Africa Intelligence (CAI), a South African-based research and strategy firm with a focus on social, health, political, and economic happenings in Africa. For more information see http://www.consultancyafrica.com or http://www.ngopulse.org/press-release/consultancy-africa-intelligence. Alternatively, visit
http://consultancyafrica.com/index.php?option=com_rsform&Itemid=172 to take advantage of CAI’s free, no obligation, one-month trial to the company’s Standard Report Series.

The severity of poverty worldwide prompted 189 world leaders in 2000 at the United Nations Millennium Summit to make a promise about the eradication of poverty by the year 2015. These commitments became to be known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Now with six years to go until the MDGs deadline of 2015 and for South Africa five years (as we have identified 2014 – 20 years into our democracy – as our target), we need to assess whether sufficient progress has been made in reaching the goals. This narrative paints a bleak picture. However it is one that has to be told so that we can ensure that the MDGs are realised. We must ask the difficult questions so that they can be answered.

The reality is that in South Africans, while there has been progress in realising some of the MDGs there have been numerous challenges. News headlines have often highlighted food price hikes and price fixing. With 40% of the population living in poverty the ability to simply afford food is not within their grasp and hunger is becoming a daily problem for many.

The recent retrenchments - blamed on the world economic crisis - have thrown approximately another million people into crisis this year. This contributes to economic hardship, leaving millions vulnerable. Unemployment increases the challenges of eradicating hunger - without income, there is even less to spend on food. South Africa is a net importer of produce and although food prices are decreasing in developed countries they remain high in developing countries. This manifests itself with the majority of the population unable afford basic food items. This has been the case for many of the residents in Vosloorus on the East Rand of Gauteng, where Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute (SPII) has been working for the last 18 months.

For many  in Vosloorus the MDGs do not have any meaning. What matters is their lived reality of a daily struggle to have their basic needs met while they try to survive with limited resources. The increase in the numbers of orphans and children who are vulnerable compounds the communities’ challenges. Orphanhood in Vosloorus is not a new AIDS–related issue. There have been several generations of orphans in Vosloorus which, I argue is a reflection of the intergenerational aspect of poverty and vulnerability.

However, the role of the HIV and AIDS pandemic has to be considered in relation to how it changes the structure of households. The death of a bread winner and ill health is sufficient to push vulnerable households into poverty, keep them in poverty traps or push them in to destitution. This has been the case for some of the households in Vosloorus. Within the sample of 40 households, 20% of the respondents have turned to destructive coping strategies such as having multiple sexual partners in order to be able to sustain the household. During our field work in the community one participant stated that in order to have her basic needs met, she had multiple partners, each of whom would fulfil a particular need eg, household or personal needs like the provision for mealie meal, meat, clothing or cellular phone airtime. It was also found that in some cases people were forced to compromise safe sexual practices by giving in to pressure to engage in unprotected sex under the coercive pull of promises of money. This illustrates the sometimes precarious coping strategies that are being adopted to meet basis needs.

Education has been highlighted as a way to equip individuals with the necessary skills to enter the job market. Findings from the survey we conducted indicate that while school attendance was fairly high, there is a persistent drop out rate of 15%. This is generally caused by a lack of funds (not just for fees, but transport, uniform, books and food), or teenage pregnancy. Although the education system appears to be in crisis, pupils have a great desire to attain education. However, the sad reality is that even with education large portions of school leavers will struggle to find work given the pre-existing high unemployment in the country.

The findings from our work in Vosloorus have demonstrated that poor and marginalised people are not always passive participants or mere victims of circumstantial poverty. Rather they are engaged in an ongoing struggle to use available resources to break the cycle of poverty. The principal elements of their daily struggles include taking part in small informal trading initiatives, albeit peripheral.

In the absence of paid work many household rely on social security grants which are used for various micro-enterprises and also to provide basic needs. The funds received from the grants are however eroded exponentially by food inflation. Within a household of five in which no member of the household has formal employment and the sole regular income is a child grant of R240 it is unlikely that basic needs will be met, let alone the costs of transportation to school, groceries and municipal services.

The MDGS have been criticised as being set too low and it has been argued that they have reduced the sense of urgency amongst states needed to address people’s needs. MDGS also are silent about the issue of wealth and the unsustainability of high inequalities in societies. If the scenario evident in Vosloorus is anything to go by, there remain serious obstacles towards South Africa’s ability to meeting the MDGs. What is necessary I believe, is that we need to work together as a society to challenge poverty and inequality if we are to make any tangible and long-lasting difference in the lives of the poor and marginalised.

Let us start doing this now and Stand Up and Take Action.

Idah Makukule a researcher at the Studies in Inequality and Poverty Institute (SPII). She can be contacted at idah@spii.org.za. Find out more about SPII’s work at www.spii.org.za

Without a doubt I vote HE Bingu wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi, one of the best performing African Presidents. The reason for this is simple: in 2004 when he came into power he made a pledge - “I will not be a president who goes around begging for food”. Unlike other rhetorical commitments we have often been treated to, he has put his words into action.

Malawi is an agriculture-based economy where agriculture contributes over 80 percent of export earnings; 38 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and supports 85 percent of the population. Smallholder farming (3.42 million households) contributes 75 percent of agricultural production. Maize is the staple food, grown by 97 percent of farming households and consumed by every Malawian. Prior to 2004, Malawi was forced into massively import maize for a number of consecutive years due to bad weather and low input uptake, among other factors.

In the 2004/5 season, many parts of the country were hit by prolonged dry spells. Yields in that year dropped to around 0.8 tons/ha, one of the lowest on record. The national production declined to less than 1.2 million metric tons, representing a decline of 24 percent from the previous year, approximately 60 percent of the estimated national maize food requirement. The country and smallholder farmers in particular, were thrown into high risk and vulnerability.

In a space of three years, between 2005 and 2007, a miracle took place: the country has gone from a food deficit of 43 percent to a food surplus of 57 percent; productivity increased two-fold from one ton per hectare to over two tons. Maize production nearly trebled from 1.23 million metric tons to 3.44 million metric tons. Malawians had enough for themselves and to export. The graph below shows that the miracle continues in 2009.


How did the miracle happen? The government doubled its expenditure on agriculture from 7.4 percent to 14 percent; scaled up access and affordability of farm inputs through rapid up-scaling of agro-dealers and a smart subsidy programme (through non-transferable coupons) for a whole range of farmers from vulnerable households through hard-working ones and adapters of new technologies. From food exports and sales to the World Food Programme through the Purchase for Progress Programme, the country has been generating in excess of US120 million annually. This is then ploughed back for further scaling-up of the programme. To ensure that smallholder farmers graduate faster from reliance on subsidised input for food security the government has embarked on a manure-making campaign; intensified extension and research in agriculture and the Greenbelt Initiative.

In 2003, in what is commonly referred to as the Maputo Protocol, African governments were supposed to have worked towards a similar miracle across the continent. They committed to spend 10 percent of their national budgets on agriculture in order to ensure food security for their citizens by 2015. However, so far only six countries are making good on this political commitment - Malawi, Burkina Faso, Mali, Senegal and Ethiopia. Nearly seven years after making the political commitment, 17 countries still spend less than five percent of their national budgets on agriculture.

Malawi has restored faith in Africa by demonstrating that the continent need not become the world’s basket case. Effective ways to improve agriculture and combat food insecurity are no longer a secret. In fact they are quite simple: scale up access and affordability of high yielding farm inputs through scaling up agro-dealers; put in place a smart subsidy programme for farmers; close the resource gap by leveraging commercial banks to lend more to agriculture through risk-sharing arrangements; build Africa’s capacity for evidence-based policies by strengthening policy institutions; and develop operational policies to promote agro-processing and value addition.

However, the one ingredient that pulls all these solutions together is political will to deliver on commitments that have already been made. As in the case of Malawi, donors may be resistant at the beginning; but if the country perseveres, ultimately, as long as the programme is well run and corruption-free, everyone will want to associate with success - as did the donor community in Malawi which provides budgetary support: DFID, EU, NORAD, Irish Aid, and World Bank among others.

It is time that Africa took the initiative to make hunger history.

Archbishop Njongo Ndungane is the Founder and President of African Monitor, www.africanmonitor.org