Understanding the dynamics of food (in)security and vulnerability in the Amathole District of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
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Date
2018
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Abstract
Food insecurity is a major development problem facing many third world countries. It is caused
by a myriad of factors in the global, regional, national and local spheres of human life. Numerous
efforts by different actors have been put in place to alleviate food insecurity globally, regionally,
nationally and locally. Communities in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape
Province in South Africa experience severe food insecurity and government and other nongovernmental organisations have been striving to ameliorate the situation. Despite concerted
efforts, the poverty and food insecurity situation continue in the district. There is a dearth of
empirical study on the nature, causes and possible solutions to food insecurity among vulnerable
people in this district. Also, there is a need to find out whether the food security approaches and
strategies put in place by governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and
communities have produced the intended results of pushing poverty frontiers. It is against this
background that this study determines the dynamics of food security and vulnerability among
people in the Amathole District Municipality of the Eastern Cape.
A mixed-methods research approach of quantitative and qualitative triangulation design was
adopted to carry out this study. A total sample of 330 heads of households from the six local
municipalities in the Amathole District Municipality participated in the study. Quantitative data
was collected through a validated questionnaire and qualitative data was collected through a key
informant interview schedule. A triangulation approach was adopted in analysing the data where
qualitative analysis was used to complement the quantitative data. The qualitative analysis was
completed through themes informed from the research questions, while the quantitative analysis
was completed through descriptive statistics, multiple regression and a significance level adopted
of 0.05.
The results of this study show that the main source of income for the vulnerable people of the
Amathole District Municipality is pension money (58.8%), the main source of water is tap water
(61.0%) and the main source of food is through purchase (58.0%). The majority (74.0%) of
residents rarely have access to enough food. Factors such as measures taken against food shortage,
time of food shortage, causes of food shortage, acquired agricultural skills, agricultural activities
and available agricultural resources have a significant contribution to the level of food security.
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The study concludes that vulnerable people in the Amathole District Municipality are still facing
food insecurity despite the efforts put in place by the present government. The sources of income
and food of these people are not sustainable. The study recommends empowerment of the
vulnerable people through agricultural activities with adequate provision of agricultural resources
to the entire district
Description
Doctoral Degree. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban.