SA’s food insecurity crisis worsens in 2023, Stats SA reports

Households in SA continue to experience challenges related to both moderate to severe and severe food insecurity, despite the country being generally food secure at the national level, Stats SA reported on Thursday.

According to the latest report on “Food Security in SA in 2019, 2022 and 2023”, an estimated 3.7-million households (19.7%) were affected by moderate to severe food insecurity in 2023, while 1.5- million households (8.0%) faced severe food insecurity.

Food security is a state in which all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.

The report highlights the “triple challenge” of poverty, inequality and unemployment as key drivers of food insecurity.

Female-headed households remain disproportionately affected. In 2023, 21.5% of female-headed households experienced moderate to severe food insecurity while 8.0% faced severe food insecurity.

Additionally, black African-headed households recorded the highest levels of moderate to severe food insecurity at 21.7%, 

According to the report, this is “slightly more than one in every five black African-headed households”.

Coloured-headed households followed closely, rising from 14.0% in 2019 to 17.0% in 2022 and a 23.5% (four percentage points) increase to 21.0% in 2023.

In contrast, food insecurity was significantly lower among Indian/Asian-headed (1.4%) and white-headed (2.8%) households.

Provincially, the Northern Cape exhibited the highest food insecurity rates, with 34.5% of households experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity (one in every four households) and 16.6% facing severe food insecurity.

Additionally, 41.8% of female-headed households in the province suffered from moderate to severe food insecurity, while 19.6% faced severe food insecurity — higher than in any other province.

Geographical factors also play a role with traditional areas (rural settlements) experiencing the highest food insecurity levels.

In 2023, one in four households (25%) in rural areas faced moderate to severe food insecurity while 10.8% experienced severe food insecurity.

Farming communities were particularly affected. Farming areas (20.9%) and traditional areas (26.8%) exceed the national average*.

Among the major cities, Mangaung metro in the Free State recorded the highest percentage of households facing moderate to severe food insecurity (23.7%) followed by Johannesburg (19.9%).

Mangaung also led in severe food insecurity (11.6%), followed by Joburg (9.7%).

Employment plays a crucial role in mitigating food insecurity.

The data shows 29.5% of households without an employed member faced moderate to severe food insecurity while only 15.4% of those with at least one employed member were affected.

Education levels also correlate with food security. In fact, the higher the level of education of the household head the less likely their household is to experience food insecurity, the report stated.

Households where the head had no formal schooling had the highest food insecurity prevalence (31.3% moderate to severe; 10.8% severe).

In contrast, only 5.4% of households with a head holding post-school qualifications experienced moderate to severe food insecurity.

Despite social grants being a vital safety net, the report highlights a paradox: 26.6% of grant-receiving households still faced moderate to severe food insecurity compared to 12.8% of non-recipients.

Similarly, 10.3% of grant-receiving households experienced severe food insecurity while 5.6% of non-recipients faced the same challenge.

Households engaged in agriculture were also surprisingly more food insecure than those not engaged in farming activities.

About 25.5% of farming households faced moderate to severe food insecurity compared to 18.5% of non-farming households.

With SA’s economic growth persistently underperforming the findings suggest that boosting economic growth is essential to address food insecurity effectively.

Sustainable employment opportunities, education, and improved agricultural productivity will be critical in reversing the crisis.

*National average: Moderate to severe food insecurity is 19.7%, and for severe food insecurity, it is 8.0%.

marxj@businesslive.co.za