South Africa ranks moderately on food security index

Photo by Reuters

By: Megan van Wyngaardt
Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

South Africa is ranked at 47 out of the 113 countries in this year’s Global Food Security Index (GFSI), reflecting a one-position decline from 2015, but an overall 0.6 point score increase.

The country ranked first among its sub-Saharan African peers and landed in the top ten of upper-middle-income countries, with Malaysia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Brazil and China claiming the top five spots in this category.

The GFSI, which is in its fifth year, is used to measure a country’s food security by examining the dynamics of food systems worldwide. Produced by research firm the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), and commissioned by chemicals and healthcare company Du Pont, the index considers affordability, availability, quality and safety as key criteria.
In the food availability category, South Africa experienced a 1.6 point score increase and a two-position improvement, to number 31; its affordability ranking also improved by one position to 53.
The country’s quality and safety score also improved, by 0.1 points, though its ranking remained the same.
Speaking at a media roundtable in Johannesburg on Wednesday, Du Pont Pioneer Africa regional director Prabdeep Bajwa said the need for more food will increase by between 50% and 70% over the next 30 years.
Bajwa noted that arable land was not increasing, and that only 12% of South Africa’s land can be used for agricultural purposes, with less than 5% considered ‘high potential’ land.
“This will increase the need for productivity. South Africa can do a lot better; it should not be in the middle. There is good, progressive thinking in the country,” Bajwa said, noting that the drought over the past two years had a severe impact on the country’s agriculture sector.
Compared with other countries, South Africa’s food supply, the percentage of the population living under the global poverty line, and access to financing for farmers, fared below average.
SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA
Nine of the ten lowest-scoring countries in the 2016 GFSI were in sub-Saharan Africa, including Madagascar, Malawi, Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Niger, Chad and Sierra Leone. Burundi scored the lowest, at 24 points, ranking at 113 on the list.
Joining the lowest-scoring sub-Saharan African countries was Haiti, which at 29.4 points tied with Mozambique, ranked at 108.
Neighbouring country Botswana ranked at 54 with 57.8 points, owing to its significant investment, along with South Africa’s investment, in agricultural research and development. These two countries ranked fifth and eighth in this indicator, respectively, significantly outperforming other upper-middle-income countries.
For the public expenditure indicator, 25 of the 28 countries in the sub-Saharan region were positioned near the bottom of the rankings. With this in mind, Bajwa suggested that governments, multilaterals and the nongovernmental sector needed to redouble their efforts in the area of agricultural finance.
“[Food security] is a complex problem, getting more complex [as population increases]. We firmly believe that the private sector cannot solve this on its own, neither can governments, citizens or nongovernmental organisations.
“It needs collaboration – it’s a value chain problem, because it isn’t just about producing more food, it lies with the processing,” said Bajwa, adding that innumerable tons of fresh produce goes to waste owing to a lack of infrastructure.
He noted that the index served as a “reality check”, which should facilitate discussion between all parties involved