“Eat your food! Finish your vegetables!” For many, these familiar childhood instructions bring back memories of tearful faces and the leafy greens we would rather have avoided. As adults, we can choose what we eat. However, for millions, the challenge is a larger one: having enough food to eat in the first place.
At a national level, South Africa remains broadly food-sufficient, with domestic agricultural production and imports ensuring staple foods and other commodities remain available within national markets.
“The challenge lies in households’ access to food, which is influenced by a number of factors such as poverty, unemployment, income inequality, hazards and food price volatility within an open, market-based food system,” says the Department of Agriculture’s (DoA) Acting Director for Subsistence Farming, Thulile Dlamini.
Speaking to SAnews.gov.za, Dlamini pointed to the General Household Survey (GHS) 2025, which indicated that about 15.8 million people experienced inadequate to severely inadequate access to food in 2025. This represents a decline from 16.3 million people in 2023 and 15.9 million in 2024.
The Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) survey monitors households’ food access on an annual basis.
While there has been a decline, the figures show that national food availability does not automatically translate into food security for every household.
The department defines food and nutrition security in accordance with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition Security approved by Cabinet in 2013.
“The policy defines food and nutrition security as: ‘Access to and control over the physical, social and economic means to ensure sufficient, safe and nutritious food at all times, for all South Africans, in order to meet the dietary requirements for a healthy life,’” she said.
Section 27(1)(b) of the Constitution guarantees everyone the right to have access to sufficient food, while Section 28(1)(c) guarantees every child the right to basic nutrition.
These provisions, Dlamini told SAnews, placed an obligation on the state to take reasonable legislative and other measures, within available resources, to realise these rights progressively.
According to the August 2014 Government Gazette, the policy is “a broad framework for the fulfilment of this Constitutional imperative and should serve as a guide to national, provincial and local government in pursuing food security at every level.”
South Africa marks Food Security Month annually in October, with undernutrition, hidden hunger, being overweight and obesity being part of the country’s nutrition security situation.
“These are mainly outcomes of consumption of nutrient-poor diets,” she said.
The scale of these challenges is reflected in the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey (2023), which showed that the national prevalence of overall stunting, wasting, and underweight in children aged 0–5 years stood at 28.8%, 5.3%, and 7.8%, respectively. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 25.3% and 32.1%, respectively.
The National Food and Nutrition Security Survey (NFNSS) also found that 63.5% of South African households were food insecure to some degree.
“As such, the survey results have been used to target the worst affected districts during the implementation of programmes. This gives a clear indication of a need for updated and continuous food and nutrition security data for informed targeting and implementation of programmes,” she said, adding that the department will conduct the NFNSS every five years.
On an annual basis, the department relies on various surveys such as the GHS.
Food gardens and food banks
For government, backyard and community gardens are important vehicles for increasing household food production, with a range of programmes aimed at strengthening the productive capacity of subsistence and household producers being implemented.
Support mechanisms typically include the provision of seeds, fertiliser, livestock and other agricultural inputs. They also include technical support, access to mechanisation support and production infrastructure.
Training and capacity development for farmers and facilitating linkages between producers and agricultural markets are also some of the mechanisms implemented.
“These programmes are designed to enable subsistence producers to move progressively from subsistence production towards smallholder and even commercial participation in agricultural value chains, where viable,” she said.
In addition, South Africa also has a range of food banks and community distribution networks that fight food insecurity by collecting and redistributing food to vulnerable households and community-run feeding programmes.
These are run by the Department of Social Development in partnership with various public and private sector organisations.
Supporting smallholder producers
Meanwhile, several programmes exist to help smallholder producers with market access.
“There are deliberate efforts to involve both state and non-state actors to promote and involve smallholder producers in the agro-food system. These include developing skills across the entire agricultural value chain and deliberately sourcing food produce from smallholder producers. To ensure compliance with international markets, a programme of certifying smallholder producers through the South African Good Agricultural Practices (SA-GAP) is being implemented.”
At the tabling of its 2025/26 Budget Vote in May, the department announced a R3.2 billion allocation to food security and farmer support programmes.
At the time, it said through the SA-GAP certification programme, which is implemented with the Perishable Products Export Control Board, at least 740 producers had been supported, with plans to reach 1 700 more farmers in the coming year.
Meanwhile, the department is also implementing the Smallholder Horticulture Empowerment and Promotion (SHEP) Programme. The programme is geared to assist smallholder producers to increase their income through improved productivity, better management of group dynamics and embracing the concept of farming as a business, among others.
“The department is also strengthening public-private partnerships through the Agriculture and Agro-Processing Master Plan (AAMP), focusing on increasing production, including in the under-utilised farming land in the country and expansion of production of export-led high value crops and investment in integrated value chains.
National Food and Nutrition Security Plan
Beyond direct support for farmers and household food production, the department is also working to coordinate a broader national response to food insecurity and malnutrition.
Dlamini stressed that addressing malnutrition is a shared national responsibility that requires coordinated action across sectors through targeted interventions.
“The nutrition-related solutions are incorporated in all three goals of the second iteration of the National Food and Nutrition Security Plan (NFNSP). The agriculture sector addresses the underlying determinants of malnutrition through improved food availability, accessibility and ensuring that agricultural support programmes are nutrition-sensitive through promoting diversified production systems, supporting nutrient-dense and indigenous crops, and directing agricultural support towards vulnerable households and districts,” she explained.
This, as the department continues engaging provinces on the second iteration of the plan, to allow stakeholder input that will shape the crafting of specific response programmes.
The plan, which builds on the first iteration (2018–2023) seeks to tackle malnutrition.
Dlamini, who has been part of the provincial consultations for the second iteration of the NFNSP, said the consultations have so far solicited valuable inputs from multiple and diverse government and non-government stakeholders.
Lessons learnt from the previous iteration include that legislative mechanisms are crucial for better coordination and collaboration, and that these should be strengthened for the enforcement of the constitutional right to sufficient food.
Other learnings include that local contexts in addressing food and nutrition security should be considered, including the informal food sectors and urban food insecurity realities.
“The centralised design of the plan restricts responsiveness to localised needs and emerging challenges,” she added.
World Food Day and climate
October also marks the commemoration of World Food Day, which was proclaimed by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations in 1979 with the aim of heightening public awareness of the world food challenge while strengthening the fight against hunger.
The day is commemorated on 16 October annually.
According to Chapter 2 of the FAO’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2026 report, at least 645 million people faced hunger in 2025 – nearly one in 13 people in the world.
“Given the rise in frequency and intensity of extreme climate change events, economic downturns and price volatility across the globe and in South Africa, the message to communities is that the use of indigenous, science-based and financial innovations is critical to withstand these challenges,” said Dlamini.
Considering the current seasonal forecast, she advised farmers to wait for sufficient moisture before planting and follow weather and climate forecasts regularly to make informed decisions.
“As below-normal rainfall is anticipated during summer, farmers should prioritise drought-tolerant and locally adapted cultivars. Weather and climate forecasts should be monitored regularly.
“Domestic production for home consumption, including through home gardens, remains crucial. Communities are urged to conserve existing water supplies, limit water waste and losses, harvest water during rainy days and re-use water.
“Farmers are also urged to contact their local agricultural offices for advice on best control measures for their farming activities,” she explained.
With Food Security Month drawing to a close, household food production remains one practical way communities can contribute to food security. Where space is limited, growing leafy greens in smaller spaces and sharing produce with neighbours can make a difference. Ultimately, food security means ensuring consistent access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food. –SAnews.gov.za
