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By Tshego Lepule 
15h ago
Cape Town – The need to encourage people to build and trust their own food systems was highlighted when World Food Day was commemorated this week, at a time when hunger levels have risen due to the pandemic .
Unemployment in South Africa has risen to 14.1 million after 2.2 million jobs were lost in the second quarter of 2020, and many households have faced an increase in poverty.
In a webinar organized by the UWC Institute for Agrarian, Agrarian and Poverty Studies and the Center of Excellence in Food Security under the theme: Food is our right: the fight for equitable food systems, it was highlighted how the lockdown it further aggravated hunger among the poor. homes.
The activist of the Rural Women’s Assembly Denia Jansen said: “In a country where 17 million people depend on social subsidies and where during the Covid-19 the R350 aid fund was not enough to feed families, hunger continues being a persistent problem.
“We live and work in communities where people experience hunger on a daily basis, even though they work on farms or with agricultural products on a daily basis, they still go to bed on an empty stomach.
“If we want a functional food system, we need access to seeds, we need access to water. We need strategies to build food systems for the future ”.
Professor Julian May, director of the Center for Excellence in Food Safety, said the problem of diminishing access to nutritious food was a growing concern.
“Food security does not equal access to adequate nutrition. When the crisis hit, a lot of attention was focused on distributing cheap items, most of which were not very nutritious, “he said. “South Africa has about 25% of its population, which is 14 million, living below the food poverty line; it’s a staggering number. “
The Western Cape Department of Social Development said that through its work with businesses, religious organizations, NGOs and civil society groups, up to 15 million meals had been distributed in August. More than 400,000 food packages have been distributed and 8.5 million students have been received.
For community worker Joanie Fredericks, who launched the One Home One Garden project in Mitchells Plain on Friday to mark World Food Day, she said it was important to teach residents to be self-reliant by growing what little food they could in their homes and they do not depend solely on handouts.
“I have always looked for sustainable ways for people to feed themselves and their families. Before Covid-19 arrived, we provided meals to the elderly and children. After closing, everyone could no longer work and earn an income, ”he said.
“After six months of providing food, we came together to try to find sustainable means for people to grow food. With the launch of this project, I hope that people will return to the barter system, where after cultivating and harvesting they can sell what they can to get what they need.
MEC for Agriculture Ivan Meyer, who was in Rietpoort on the West Coast on Friday to mark the day by handing out orchards and chicken projects to beneficiaries, said these initiatives will go a long way toward sustaining residents.
“It is important that we migrate from food aid to food security. Part of the job of my department is to implement gardens and community gardens because ensuring your own food gives you and your family dignity, ”he added.
Argus weekend
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