Academic literature on the topic 'Food security – KwaZulu-Natal – Kwamsane'

South Africa (SA) is considered as the second largest economies in Africa with well-developed agricultural food production system. But food security is still a challenge at household level. Currently, in Africa, smallholder agriculture is recognized to contribute food security at household level. This study investigates the prevalence of food insecurity and nutritional knowledge of 78 local smallholder farmers in KwaZulu Natal (KZN) province of South Africa. The results from this study indicated that nutrition knowledge was poor and food insecurity was prevalent at >40% at the household level. It is therefore recommended that future agricultural training should include nutrition education based on FBDG (Food Based Dietary Guidelines) in their respective programs so as to attain a balanced diet for healthy and productive smallholder farmer communities

This study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food consumption habits, food purchasing behaviours, and food security status among South African adults. The researchers conducted an online consumer survey for the month of October 2020. Approximately two-thirds of participants were youth and women, predominantly from KwaZulu-Natal. A significant number of participants reported to either having remained the same weight or gained weight. Changes in food consumption habits included a significant increase in snack consumption, increased water consumption, and improved food skills. Notably, no food was eaten significantly more than before COVID-19 and no food was eaten significantly less than before COVID-19. Regarding food purchasing behaviours, a significantly high number of participants indicated that food prices increased during the lockdown. Whilst a significant number of participants indicated that they had no difficulties eating enough food, a significant number of participants reported that they could not afford to buy more food and as a coping strategy resorted to planting vegetables. The findings of this survey provide an advancement of knowledge on food consumption, food purchasing behaviours, and food security status during emergency situations as well as long-term food-related strategies.

Thesis(MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2014
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This thesis documents a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project conducted from 2011 to 2013 in a rural communal area in southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The area is a microcosm of the global environmental and socio-economic polycrisis; with adult unemployment at 50 percent, 73 percent female-headed households, heavy dependence on government social grants and a food system reliant on purchased food. Eight, mainly female-headed households (the co-researchers), assisted by the student researcher, implemented and assessed a cropping system, designed on agroecological principles, on their abandoned garden plots. The objective was to grow culturally acceptable food crops to supplement their household diets and positively affect their food security. The student researcher provided the necessary infrastructure, including goat-proof plot fences, hand tools, a grain hammermill, seed, and fertiliser. The literature review, which also used early 1900’s photographs and contemporary isiZulu language as evidence, revealed the agroecological basis of pre-colonial agriculture. However, colonial and apartheid influences destroyed this knowledge base. The cropping system design utilized practices from this pre-colonial era combined with current agroecological techniques. The agroecological techniques employed on the plots included non-inversion tillage of planting pits using garden forks, precision placement of phosphate fertiliser and animal manures, open pollinated seeds, east-west orientated strip cropping, soil surface mulches, crop rotations including legumes and the use of chickens to control pests. Dryland crops included maize, beans, sweet potatoes, and butternuts, with small trial vegetable patches on some plots. The research identified a method to calculate the planting frequency of these vegetables to ensure a constant annual supply, however further research is needed. The dryland crops supplemented household diets between harvests. The formation of structured groups amongst the households proved vital to the success of the cropping system, providing mutual labour assistance, shared decision-making, building knowledge and moral support. The importance of dialogue and trust, reinforced by the student researcher’s ability to communicate in isiZulu with the co-researchers, formed the basis of both the PAR, and Focus Group Discussions(FGD), used to qualitative assess the cropping system. During these, the households reported a good understanding of the agroecological principles of the cropping system, a willingness to continue with it post research, and positive benefits, including better health, and money saved on food purchases, redirected to improve their asset base. The World Food Programme (2008) Food Consumption Score Analysis Method (FCS), modified to show the percentage contribution of homegrown food to the FCS, provided the quantitative assessment of the cropping system. The FCS scores rose during the research, with homegrown food contributing over a third of the FCS at times. The co-researchers suggested instituting group ‘stokvels’1to finance inputs and maintain infrastructure post research. The financial implications of these ‘stokvels’ was calculated. Due to the initial success of the PAR, the research recommends a method to extend the cropping system to more households, utilizing state finance to provide the infrastructure, and the co-researchers imparting technical knowledge through farmer-to-farmer extension.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In hierdie tesis word verslag gedoen van ’n deelnemende aksienavorsingsprojek wat van 2011 tot 2013 in ’n landelike dorpsgebied in die suide van KwaZulu-Natal, Suid-Afrika, uitgevoer is. Die gebied is ’n mikrokosmos van die wêreldwye omgewings- en sosio-ekonomiese polikrisis, met volwasse werkloosheid op 50%, 73% huishoudings met vroue aan die hoof, swaar afhanklikheid van die staat se maatskaplike toelae en ’n voedselstelsel wat van gekoopte kos afhanklik is. In die studie het agt huishoudings, wat hoofsaaklik vroue aan die hoof het (die medenavorsers), met behulp van die studentenavorser, ’n verbouingstelsel, wat op agro-ekologiese beginsels gegrond is, op hul verlate tuingrond geïmplementeer en geassesseer. Die doel was om kultureel aanvaarbare gewasse te verbou om hul huishoudelike dieet aan te vul en hul voedselsekerheid positief te beïnvloed. Die studentenavorser het die nodige infrastruktuur verskaf, met inbegrip van bokbestande omheining, handgereedskap, ’n graanhamermeul, saad en kunsmis. Die literatuurstudie, waarin foto’s uit die 1900’s en moderne Zoeloe as bewyse gebruik is, toon die agro-ekologiese grondslag van prekoloniale landbou. Koloniale en apartheidsinvloede het egter hierdie kennisbasis vernietig. Die verbouingstelselontwerp was gegrond op praktyke uit hierdie prekoloniale era gekombineer met moderne agro-ekologiese tegnieke. Hierdie tegnieke het ingesluit nie-inversie-grondbewerking van plantgate met gebruik van tuinvurke, presisieplasing van fosfaatkunsmis en dieremis, oop bestuifde sade, oos–wes-georiënteerde strookverbouing, grondoppervlak-deklae, wisselbou met onder andere peulgewasse en die gebruik van hoenders om peste te beheer. Droëland-gewasse het ingesluit mielies, bone, soetpatats en botterskorsies, met klein toetsgroenteakkers op sommige stukke grond. ’n Metode is in die navorsing geïdentifiseer om te bepaal hoe gereeld hierdie groente geplant moet word om ’n konstante jaarlikse voorraad te verseker. Verdere navorsing is egter nodig. Die droëland-gewasse het huishoudelike diëte tussen oeste aangevul. Die vorming van gestruktureerde groepe onder die huishoudings het noodsaaklik geblyk te wees vir die sukses van die verbouingstelsel, waardeur wedersydse hulp met arbeid, gedeelde besluitneming, die bou van kennis en morele ondersteuning gebied is. Die belangrikheid van dialoog en vertroue, wat versterk is deur die studentenavorser se vermoë om in Zoeloe met die medenavorsers te kommunikeer, het die grondslag gevorm van die deelnemende aksienavorsingsprojek asook die fokusgroeponderhoude, wat gebruik is om die verbouingstelsel kwalitatief te assesseer. In hierdie onderhoude het die huishoudings verslag gedoen van hul grondige begrip van die agro-ekologiese beginsels van die verbouingstelsel, hul gewilligheid om ná die navorsing daarmee voort te gaan, asook die voordele wat dit bied, soos beter gesondheid en geld wat op voedselaankope gespaar is, wat heraangewend is om hul batebasis te verbeter. Die Wêreldvoedingsprogram (2008) se Food Consumption Score- (FCS-)ontledingsmetode, wat aangepas is om die persentasie bydrae van selfgekweekte voedsel tot die FCS aan te toon, is gebruik vir die kwantitatiewe assessering van die verbouingstelsel. Die FCS-tellings het tydens die navorsing toegeneem, met selfgekweekte voedsel wat by tye tot meer as ’n derde tot die FCS bygedra het. Die medenavorsers het voorstel dat ’n stokvel gestig word om insette te finansier en die infrastruktuur ná die navorsing in stand te hou. Die finansiële implikasies van hierdie stokvel is bereken. Op grond van die aanvanklike sukses van die deelnemende aksienavorsingsprojek stel die navorser ’n metode voor om die verbouingstelsel na meer huishoudings uit te brei met behulp van staatsfinansiering om die infrastruktuur te verskaf asook die oordrag van die medenavorsers se tegniese kennis na ander boere.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Masters Of Arts in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Zululand, 2018
The main aim of this study was to establish an association between social grants and access to sufficient food within beneficiary households and how these households cope with food insecurity. A data set of 100 respondents from uMhlathuze city was used to determine the effectiveness of social grants. Firstly, the results of the regression analysis show the relationship between characteristics of the household caregiver such as gender, educational attainment, marital status and employment status, with food (in) security. The intention was to determine whether such features reduce or augment household access to adequate food, and it was discovered that most of these characteristics do not significantly affect food (in) security levels. Households running out of food, the skipping of meals and reasons for skipping meals were used as predictors of food insecurity. Also, other methods were utilised to comprehensively assess the significance of social grants, such as: reviewing how the households utilised the income from the grants, the percentage contribution of the grants to the general household income and what other sources of income the households had. It was evident that grant income was pooled amongst household members to support various household necessities other than food. When households received grants, they spent them on food, education, medical costs, clothes, payment of loans, water bills, starting a small business and building a home, and very few could afford to make savings or investments. The majority of households admitted that they would be incapable of surviving without the grants, as they were a necessary contribution towards food access. It had been fully established that households were food insecure and sometimes hungry; therefore, there was a necessity for assessing the types of adopted coping strategies. Unfortunately, many used mechanisms that were harmful to the households in the long run, such as taking loans, skipping meals and purchasing cheap food. To assess the importance of caregiver characteristics for food security, a simple correlation analysis was used. It was discovered that the progression of food insecurity does not subside or grow within the household on account of caregiver socio-demographic characteristics. They were ineffectual in sufficiently achieving food access. In conclusion, social grant beneficiary households at Umhlathuze are food insecure. This is an unfortunate state of affairs, as access to sufficient food is a basic human right, according to Section 27 of the South African Constitution.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Arts in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Development Studies in the Department of Anthropology and Development Studies at the University of Zululand, 2018
This study analyses the effects of institutional gaps on food security in rural households in the uThungulu District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The study found that inadequate access to and low production of food was common in poor households. When compared to other African countries, the South African Government is seen to have established sound policies aimed at eradicating food insecurity in historically disadvantaged communities, inter alia, by reprioritising public spending. However, these policies have not been well implemented, resulting in an increase in the number of food-insecure people in the country, irrespective of food availability. In this study, participants comprised community members aged 20 years and above (n=147), nine key informants and focus groups (n=11). Questionnaires, interviews and focus group discussions were used to obtain data related to the institutional gaps that contributed to food insecurity. Both content and statistical analysis was used to realise the study objectives. The results of the study showed that participants had to contend with numerous challenges in sustaining their community development projects towards achieving food security and received only limited support from various institutions. In general, communities with a poor socio-economic profile are vulnerable to food insecurity because their low status denies them access to credit provision, skills and information. In the uThungulu District, agriculture was widely practised as a strategy to eradicate food insecurity: crop farming particularly, in the form of community and home gardens, was undertaken, but very few participants engaged in livestock farming. The study revealed that the issue of land access and ownership compromised rural production. Rural business people had inadequate knowledge of how to participate and compete in the market. The study’s results also showed that local municipalities’ services were often politically aligned and politicians as heads of institutions made poor, top-down decisions that did not meet the needs of poor people. Local municipalities were mostly dependent on governmental funding which was limited. Furthermore, governmental institutions themselves were faced with challenges, including inadequate staff, capacity and skills to serve communities satisfactorily. The study concluded that while South Africa as a nation was food secure, households – particularly in rural areas – were not yet free from food insecurity. Food in/security is a multi-sectoral issue that needs to be tackled by all institutions and sectors and should not be aligned with the agricultural sector only. It is recommended that the government should improve food security policies, determine methods of financing rural entrepreneurs and small-scale farmers and expand the institutions committed to rural food security programmes. It also needs to provide training in entrepreneurial skills and assist and empower poor people to adopt modern farming practices which include intensifying livestock production. Policies and strategies to alleviate food insecurity need to be analysed and improved as a matter of urgency. Further research should investigate and monitor the implementation of food security interventions in rural areas.
National Institute For the Humanities and Social Sciences Scholarship

Despite phenomenal success of the commercial agricultural sector in South Africa and significant progress in integrating smallholders since democratic reforms, food security concerns remain. Recent global increases in food prices have further exacerbated vulnerabilities and made it imperative to examine alternative food production questions in the country. Organic agriculture is identified as one of the sustainable approaches to farming and offers insights towards a paradigm shift in food and nutritional security. Notwithstanding, consumer awareness, knowledge and consumption of organic foods are significantly lower in developing than developed countries. Risks associated with adoption of organic practices need to be explored to address the supply and demand constraints. Similarly, while consumer awareness of organic foods is the first step in developing demand for organic products, it does not necessarily translate to consumption. Therefore it is important to investigate these issues. The objectives of this study were to: (i) describe the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of organic farmers and consumers; (ii) establish the determinants of farmers‘ decision to participate in organic farming distinguishing between the fully-certified organic, partially-certified organic and non-organic farmers; (iii) elicit farmers risk preferences and empirically analyse farmers sources of risk and risk management strategies; (iv) explore consumer awareness, perceptions and attitudes regarding organic products; and (v) identify the factors that influence consumer‘s preference and consumption of organic products. A total of 400 respondents were surveyed, consisting of 200 smallholder farmers in KwaZulu-Natal and 200 consumers in the Eastern Cape. The KwaZulu-Natal study was conducted earlier and identified the following as major sources of risk, lack of consumer awareness of organic products and lack of information among producers about consumer preferences for organic products. This informed the need to undertake a consumer awareness and preference study, in order to inform producers. The Eastern Cape is a bordering province to KwaZulu-Natal with similar socio economic conditions and a major consumer of produce from KwaZulu-Natal. It was also expected that in the intervening period there could have been awareness about the product. An vii indication of its appeal would not be in the consumption of the product by the people who grow it, but by consumers who reside in bordering regions. Producer and household questionnaires were used to record household activities, socio-economic and institutional data as well as household demographics through personal interviews. The Arrow Pratt Absolute Risk Aversion (APARA) coefficient was used to measure the farmer‘s degree of risk aversion and the experimental gambling approach to establish the risk classification. Consumers were also asked about their awareness and knowledge about organics, attitudes and perceptions towards organics, preference and consumption patterns. The ordered probit results indicate that older farmers, who are less risk averse and reside in the sub-ward Ogagwini, Ezigani, and Hwayi were more likely to be certified organic farmers. Similarly, the propensity to adopt organic farming is positively correlated to household size, livestock ownership, asset base and tenure security. The risk analysis indicates that at higher pay-offs most farmers are intermediate to moderately risk-averse, with little variation according to personal characteristics, and that non-organic farmers tend to be more risk averse than fully-certified and partially-certified farmers. In general, price, production and financial risks were perceived as the most important sources of risk. Using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), seven principal components (PCs) explaining 66.13% of the variation were extracted. Socio economic factors having a significant effect on the various sources of risk are age, gender, education, location, information access and risk taking ability. The most important traditional risk management strategies used by the surveyed farmers are crop diversification, precautionary savings and participating in social networks. There was general awareness of what constituted organic foods with many consumers associating organic foods with health and nutrition, chemical free and produced using indigenous methods of production. However, there was low awareness of organic products among consumers with little or no knowledge of organic certification and standards. According to the logit model the major factors influencing consumer awareness of organic products are: gender, education, employment status, and location of the respondents, person/household member responsible for shopping and the price perception of the decision maker. The discriminant analysis showed that the consumption of organic products is significantly affected by age of the consumer, viii location, person/household member responsible for shopping, consumer awareness of organics, price perception and label trust. The findings from this study provides useful practical insights for policy makers, farm advisers and researchers in the design of effective and efficient policies, programmes and projects which can affect the adoption of organic practices, increase smallholder farmers capacity to manage risk and drive growth in the organic food market.

Most smallholder farmers in South Africa are characterized by poor resources such as land, labour and capital while they play an important role in poverty alleviation especially in poor rural areas. Smallholder farmers are increasingly recognized because of their contribution to household food security. The world markets are increasingly being integrated due to globalization and liberalization. As a result, smallholder farmers are facing increasing market competition, not only in international markets but in local markets as well. However, smallholder farmers often face a number of barriers to accessing these markets arising in part from the tightening of food safety and quality standards requiring compliance with phytosanitary and sanitary standards and growing power of supply chain integration. Furthermore, the viability of these smallholder producers is constrained by institutional obstacles which include lack of access to information, high marketing and transaction costs and low quality and lack of critical volume in the absence of bulking up arrangements, etc. These barriers have contributed to the exclusion of smallholder/small-scale farmers from formal markets. In order to address these obstacles and speed up the pace of agrarian reform many support schemes (farmer support programmes) are now being designed to specifically address market access and value chain issues through unique co-innovation arrangements to improve the farmer’s access to profitable international chains. A number of farmer support programmes (FSP) have been implemented in South Africa to reduce the risk of a lack of capacity and a lack of economic and/or financial experience in smallholder farms. Intervention measures have been instituted to these smallholder farmers to assist them to move out of poverty through agricultural production. The aim of this study was to understand the roles played by farmer support programmes in addressing income and welfare levels and sustainability of smallholder farmers in South Africa. Eighty nine (89) farmers were interviewed for this study and almost half (49%) of them received support from various organizations while 51% of the sampled farmers did not receive any support. The study was designed to compare the two groups between the treated and control group to assess the impact of these programmes.Using a Tobit and Propensity Score Matching technique, potential diffusion effects were eliminated between farmers supported by Farmer Support Programmes and farmers that did not belong to support services. The latter was selected from comparable communities with no agricultural support services. Findings from the Tobit regression and propensity score matching are consistent across the two methods, suggesting that being a member of any agricultural support programme has a significant positive impact on income and welfare of smallholder farmers.Farmer Support Programmes and collective marketing activities such as the collection and sale of members’ products appear to have a significant and positive impact on smallholder welfare of those farmers engaged in them. In the second analysis the study tested the types of arrangements that farmers would adopt to market their produce. From the results it was established that those farmers who were supported by institutional arrangements or FSP had better access to markets than those farmers who operated as individuals. Marginal effects are used to show the degree to which farmers chose a particular marketing channel or institutional arrangement that these farmers take when trying to access better paying markets. Then the final analysis is on factors that determine the extent to which collective action contribute to farmers’ income and market access. A number of variables (age, distance to the market, region the farmers are located) were evaluated using the multinomial regression model. Empirical results suggest that among South African cooperatives, those established in KwaZulu-Natal and partly in the Eastern Cape and upon the voluntary initiative of farmers are more sustainable and have access to better paying markets both locally and internationally than the other areas. The results also show that NGO-supported cooperatives have a longer life span than Government controlled cooperatives.

Urban agriculture is gaining more attention because of the current global trends such as urbanization and global economic and food crisis. The numbers of people who practice urban agriculture are estimated to 800 million. Based on this scale and other claims made about urban agriculture, it is argued that urban agriculture must be integrated to urban policy and planning. The premise of this dissertation was to understand motivations and determinants of urban agriculture, and how these can inform policy. The intention of the dissertation was to understand which urban residents in KwaMsane Township of uMkhanyakude district at KwaZulu-Natal province cultivated gardens and why. This was critical considering that generally urban areas are better than rural areas in terms of employment opportunities, infrastructure, and provision of basic services. In pursuit of this objective, the dissertation assessed KwaMsane Township households cultivating gardens in terms of assets, resources, and livelihood strategies with an aim of identifying motivations and determinant factors. The central idea of the dissertation from the onset was to validate the claim that since there is diversity in terms of household composition among those cultivating gardens there are different reasons for engaging with the activity. Using qualitative with borrowed participatory action tools, and quantitative (STATA 11) methods guided by the sustainable livelihood approach, the findings showed that only 9.7% of KwaMsane Township residents cultivated gardens. Of the households 92% were cultivating gardens and consuming their produce because of food demand due to large household size and children, their awareness about nutritional content of fresh vegetables from the soil, their agricultural background of cultivating gardens for subsistence purposes, high food prices from the market, and their lack of necessary skills to create and sell in the local market. The binary logistic regression showed that the determinants for households to cultivate gardens at KwaMsane Township were the presence of children, agricultural assets, governmental grants, and pensioners in a household. The two common factors between the above mentioned determinants were income and time availability which incentivized the practice. The dissertation also showed that the majority of gardeners from KwaMsane Township were in their productive ages (in this case between 29 and 61 years of age), females were more predominant in the activity with few males, and most of the gardeners were educated, and employed. However, gender, education, and employment had little relationship with cultivation of gardens. On average gardeners were older than non-gardeners. It was also shown that gardeners consisted of different income groups but mostly middle income group. The dissertation indicated that the use of urban agriculture by KwaMsane Township gardeners was informed by their motivations which contributed to food security, food sovereignty, and poverty alleviation.
Thesis (M.Dev.Studies)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2012.

While South Africa is nationally food secure, the m ajority of rural households are food insecure. Community and home gardens are widel y promoted to alleviate food insecurity. Households in the Maphephetheni Uplands , KwaZulu-Natal have come together to cultivate community gardens, producing food crops for consumption and selling surpluses. This study evaluated the contrib ution of community gardens towards alleviating food insecurity in the Maphephe theni Uplands. A survey was conducted among 53 participants of community garden s and their households. A questionnaire and focus group discussions were used to evaluate the following household food security measures: anxiety and uncer tainty about food supply; consumption of a variety of preferred foods; consum ption of sufficient quantities of food; and the prevalence of food insecurity. Eighty percent of the participating households had insufficient food intake, 72% consum ed food of inadequate quality and 89% were anxious and uncertain about food suppl ies. Among the households surveyed using the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, 88.7% were categorised as severely food insecure, often going a day withou t eating, going to bed hungry or running out of food for more than ten days in a mon th. Eight percent of households were moderately food secure, and three percent were mildly food insecure. No households were food secure according to the classi fication. Only 11% of the household food was sourced from community gardens, while 83% was purchased and six percent was sourced from home gardens. Limited community garden sizes, drought, floods, theft, pests and diseases were ide ntified by community gardeners as factors limiting the contribution of community gard ens to household food security. Community gardens have not alleviated food insecuri ty among the participating households. It is recommended that an investigation should be carried out on how productivity could be improved through appropriate crop husbandry practices to reduce crop loses. Since purchasing is the main sou rce of food among community gardeners, alternative income generating activities need to be investigated.
Thesis (M.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Crop production is widely promoted as a solution to food insecurity, but its real impact on household food security has not been measured in South Africa. Small-scale production is a common practice for many rural poor households of South Africa. While agriculture may play a major role in reducing food insecurity, agricultural growth alone cannot solve the problem of food insecurity at household level. South Africa is food secure at the national level, but available data suggest that between 58.5 and 73 percent of South African households experience food insecurity. This study set out to measure the impact of crop production on household food security among sampled households in two communal regions, Umbumbulu and Maphephetheni, of KwaZulu-Natal, to establish whether participation in food production improved household food security. Household surveys which explored the types of crops produced, food consumed, income obtained from crop sales and the food security situation, were carried out at Umbumbulu and Maphephetheni respectively (n = 200 and n = 68). The types of crops produced were investigated using crop production seasonality charts, while the household food security situation was measured using the Coping Strategy Index tool. The main findings of the study indicated that household gardens provided food for household members, but did not provide sufficient quantities to meet year-round consumption requirements. Most sampled households relied largely on purchased foods. More than 80% of the food consumed by households came from purchases, 4% and 13% came from own production in Umbumbulu and Maphephetheni respectively. Among the households surveyed, 58% and 89% were below the poverty line for Umbumbulu and Maphephetheni respectively. Umbumbulu and Maphephetheni’s largest household income contributions came from wages or salaries. Social grants were the second most important source of household income. As participation in crop production alleviated food shortages somewhat, its contribution to food security cannot be ignored. A study needs to be conducted to investigate whether participation in both farm/non farm activities reduces the number of households below the poverty line. Government should provide extension officers to monitor and evaluate the impact of gardens on household food security. To guide the design and implementation of commercial and home gardens, households need to develop clear and consistent policies, strategies, processes and procedures, and (a sound) monitoring and evaluation framework.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.

Measurement of household food insecurity is needed to identify the magnitude of food insecurity and assess the impact of development interventions. However, there is no commonly agreed measure of household food insecurity. While researchers continually experiment with new measures, the resultant measures are often complex and include numerous variables that still do not distinguish clearly between the food secure and the food insecure. This study set out to prepare a quick and convenient tool to measure household food security, using common household demographic and socio-economic variables commonly collected through a variety of household surveys. This has minimised data collection costs and assisted national food security units to continually measure and monitor household food insecurity. Food insecurity levels were estimated using data from a baseline survey conducted in a community in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Food security was estimated using a number of measures, including food quantity (adequacy), dietary diversity, dietary quality, coping strategies employed and the Coping Strategies Index. The study found that household food availability varied across the two seasons over which data were collected. Only the percentile of sample households with adequate food intakes (one third of the samples) consumed enough food during the lean period when agricultural production was low. Households with inadequate food intakes also had consumed insufficient energy and lower micronutrient intakes during the period when agricultural produce was more abundant. Energy, iron and protein consumption was positively related to the consumption of adequate food. Energy intake was a relatively good indicator of protein and micronutrient intakes during the leaner period. Consumption of foods from three food groups, namely cereals, legumes and vegetables and fruits were necessary for adequate food intake. Cereals were the most important foods, forming the base of most meals, while fats and animal sourced foods were not widely consumed. Diversifying consumption through fruits and vegetables contributed significantly and positively to improved household food intakes. Household dietary diversity and dietary quality improved during the period of plenty. The application of coping strategies was strongly related to household food intake and diversity. Engaging in more coping strategies and having resultant higher Coping Strategy Index scores was strongly associated with household food inadequacy intakes and low food diversity scores. As expected, sampled households employed more coping strategies during the lean season. The strong and significant relationships between the Coping Strategies Index scores, the number of coping strategies practised by households and the household food intake indices (the Household Food Intake Index and Nutrient Adequacy Ratios) show that food intake is a strong indicator for household food security. The Household Food Insecurity Index and the Household Food Insecurity Scale were developed using 13 potential household demographic and socio-economic variables to identify the food-insecure households. The results of these two new measures were correlated with the results of the common measures reported above and found to be useful determinants of food security. The study found that while the Household Food Insecurity Index explained the influence of demographic and socio-economic variables in household food insecurity, the Household Food Insecurity Scale is more convenient in application (easy data management and computation process), and it is strongly related to the Coping Strategies Index scores. Both the Household Food Insecurity Scale and the Household Food Insecurity Index were useful tools to measure household food security and differentiate between food security and food insecure households in Embo Community. More research is recommended to further test the usefulness of the proposed measures in various settings.
Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

The purpose of this study was to investigate coping strategies employed by low-income households of Sweetwaters KwaZulu-Natal, who have members who are infected with HIV in ensuring food security when dealing with HIV/AIDS. This study was based on households who have members living openly with HIV/AIDS and who were members of a support group of HIV positive people. This study was conducted between July 2003 and June 2004. Focus group meetings were conducted with a support group of 26 members (Philani Support Group). Questionnaires, group discussions and observations were used to collect data from households. In order for the study to investigate coping strategies, the following sub-problems were investigated to measure changes before and after illness or death in household: changes in finances, changes in food habits, social aspect of studied household which included infrastructure (housing, roads, water, sanitation and energy); external and internal support. There were no major differences in coping strategies, but the structure, resources and size of households informed their coping strategies. Food was the centre of all activities of households. As the ability of the household to produce food or earn income decreased, the need for food increased. Government social grants have been shown to be the main resource for coping (they enabled households to cope or survive). It is recommended that low-income households affected by HIV/AIDS and totally dependent on grants should be helped not to develop a dependency syndrome by implementing strategies that will encourage active participation and deal with passiveness that exists within low-income households of Sweetwaters affected by HIV/AIDS. As this study indicates that there are no resources on which concerned households depend, it suggests a greater need for capital to boost the household and strategies for households to be able to sustain themselves.
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2005.