Hon Chairperson, hon Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here, hon members, our guests on the gallery, ladies and gentlemen, the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, and I quote:
Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control.
The South African Bill of Rights reaffirms article 25(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, by stating in sections 26 and 27 that everyone has the right to have access to adequate housing, health care services, sufficient food and water, and social security. This also includes appropriate social assistance if one is unable to support oneself and one's dependants. Access to sufficient food is, therefore, a constitutional right of all South Africans.
At a national level, South Africa is a food-secure nation. This means that the country produces its main staple foods, exports its surplus food, and imports what it needs in order to meet its food requirements. Yet the picture at the level of households is very different. According to Statistics SA, around 35% of the total population, 14,3 million South Africans, are currently vulnerable to food insecurity. Women, children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Approximately 1,5 million children under the age of six are malnourished, and therefore stunted owing to a lack of proper nutrition. These figures were released by Statistics SA when measuring poverty in South Africa in 2000.
Hon Minister, what is food security? Food security exists when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing when all people, at all times, have access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life. This includes both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs, as well as their food preferences.
The three fundamental pillars of food security are the following: Food availability, sufficient quantities of food available on a consistent basis; food access, having sufficient resources to obtain appropriate foods for a nutritious diet; and food use, appropriate use based on knowledge of basic nutrition and care, as well as adequate water and sanitation. It is important that all three are explored when trying to address the problem of food insecurity in order to develop a holistic approach to the problem, especially at the level of the household.
What is household food security? Household food security is defined as access by all households at all times to adequate, safe and nutritious food for a healthy and productive life. Food security can thus be said to have two components: the ability to be self-sufficient in food production through own production; and accessibility to markets and the ability to purchase food items.
The threats to food security arise from a combination of factors which individually and collectively place food systems under stress. These include climatological, ecological, socioeconomic and political factors. These factors interact with market and access to credit, the availability and sustainability of technology, the terms of trade, pricing policies and other idiosyncratic factors to threaten food supply. It is worth noting that socioeconomic conditions are playing a more important role in food security or insecurity. While South Africa produces a sufficient amount of food, this in no way ensures food security at individual household level.
The prevalence of and causes of food security in South Africa are highest amongst the African population and rural households. The provinces with high stunting rates are also those provinces with large rural populations. Rural children and mothers with limited education are the most affected.
Poverty, lack of income or sustainable livelihoods and unemployment are among some of the main causes of food insecurity. It should be noted that given the history of inequality, South Africa remains one of the most unequal societies in the world. Income distribution in South Africa is among the most unequal in the world.
According to some experts, food insecurity does not only occur as a result of a shortage of food, but is also due to problems related to its distribution. Hence, there is the argument that even where there is plenty, hunger and malnutrition may still prevail.
Regarding the impact of food insecurity, if families are unable to grow or purchase enough food and social welfare nets are absent or ineffective, there may be hunger. This is the case in many South African societies. According to Mgijima, 1991, it is estimated that 39% of the South African population is vulnerable to food insecurity. Furthermore, 22% of all children under the age nine are stunted owing to chronic malnutrition. This has negative consequences for the children's development.
According to the National Food Consumption Survey of 2000, anaemia and marginal vitamin A status are widespread micronutrient deficiencies. Anaemia and marginal vitamin A status affect between 20% and 30% of young children. It is said further that malnutrition can lead to severe protein- energy deficiency conditions known as kwashiorkor or marasmus. Malnutrition can also lead to micronutrient deficiencies such as night blindness and cretinism.
When it comes to possible strategies to address food insecurity, it should be noted that although the social security - which will encompass comprehensive nutrition programmes targeting children and the vulnerable - is essential for dealing with challenges that the poor are facing, it is critical that strategies for addressing food insecurity be developed in order to address the problem.
These strategies may include, amongst other things, land reform and food security. There cannot be own production and household food security if households do not have access to land. Many rural people depend very much on wage incomes. Employment, in other words, is important in most rural areas. But, as farm jobs are slashed and poverty spreads and deepens, vulnerability to food insecurity also increases. Those who are able to work but are unemployed do not have access to any social welfare programmes and are very vulnerable to food insecurity. Such people could significantly reduce their vulnerability to food insecurity with access to land for own production and sales.
International experience also shows the importance of access to land and land reform in alleviating poverty and, hence, food security. For instance, the consequence of the Chinese land reform programme was that there was a fast reduction in income-based absolute poverty from roughly 60% before land redistribution to an average of approximately 6% to 11% in 1979 to 1981.
South Korea also experienced considerable improvement in livelihoods after land reform. The South Korean land reform programme resulted in 60% cultivation of the total land area and an improved Gini co-efficient of land redistribution from 0,729 to 0,384 between 1945 and 1965.