The gendered dimensions of food security in South Africa: a review of the literature

Since the mid-1970s, the African continent has been the only region that has been unable to feed its own population. South Africa could face a plight similar to other sub-Saharan African countries. Currently there are approximately 14 million people in South Africa who are vulnerable to food insecurity and 1.5 million children under the age of 6 years who are stunted by chronic malnutrition (The Presidency 2008). It is unlikely that the country will be able to produce sufficient food in the future unless radical new policies change current practices... Food security cannot be separated from the broader socio-political issues impacting on individuals and communities. For example, access to water, land and other natural resources...have a significant bearing on an individual’s and a community’s vulnerability to food insecurity. An assessment of gender in relation to food security can, therefore, not take place without recourse to the multidimensional nature of food security.