Academic literature on the topic 'Food supply – Political aspects – Zambia'

This study investigates the emergence and supply-demand dynamics of a market for low-fee private schools (LFPS) at the level of early childhood care and education (ECCE) in a slum of Lusaka, Zambia. Based on data collection over 1.5 years, the study reveals that, despite a government policy to support ECCE, over 90% of ECCE centers are private; that school operators tend to be former teachers, businessmen/women, and religious leaders; and that LFPSs charge, on average, 2.5 times as much as government ECCE centers for tuition, not including additional indirect costs. The paper discusses how teachers in LFPSs are caught in the middle, making less than the average income earned by others in the surrounding slum, and are unable to afford LFPS fees themselves. Importantly, the paper highlights that lower income quintiles spend a greater percentage of their income on ECCE, and that a majority of families in the study must make tradeoffs between ECCE, food, housing, and other basic expenditures in order to afford private ECCE, which is a necessity given the inadequate supply of government ECCE centers. In addition to addressing school strategies for keeping costs down, this study reports on parental decision-making when it comes to school selection. Finally, beyond a straight market analysis of LFPSs at the ECCE level in Zambia, this article also comments on how this market fits into the dialectical nature of local and global contexts. That is, it draws attention to the workings of the Zambian state and its precarious position in the global capitalist economy.

Monitoring and Evaluation Systems have been identified the world over as powerful tools for good governance, they provide relevant information about development projects, programmes and policies. For that reason, governments, bilateral and multilateral development agencies, including civil society organisations have adopted M&E systems to better their performance through accountability, feedback loops and continuous learning mechanisms. This study investigated the functional status of Zambia’s public sector M&E system. Using a designated diagnostic checklist and analytical framework, the country’s whole-of-government M&E system was found to be weak in several aspects. Specifically, the study argues that for any M&E system to function satisfactorily, it is required that both its ‘supply-side’ and ‘demand-side’ are well developed and sustained. The diagnostic findings have revealed that Zambia’s whole-of-government M&E system had both its supply-side and demand-side weak. However, the study has not focused on both sides, instead, the supply-side has been fully explored and clear suggestions for improvement are made herein. Consequently, the study has proposed a new model which when implemented would holistically strengthen the Government –wide system for M&E. It remains to the powers that be to adopt and implement the recommended model. Government will need to strengthen and sustain its M&E political championship, restructure all government functions towards a results-based management approach—statistics, information technology, skills, policies, laws, etc to support an M&E regime. Likewise, the issues covered in the proposed model could also be of use to other organisations seeking to strengthen their M&E systems. Particularly, the methodology used to undertake the needs analysis could be of utmost applicability by others before embarking on a fuller process of building and strengthening their systems for M&E. Another study was underway to support the demand-side of Zambia’s M&E system.

Around 6 million tonnes of edible food are being wasted (post-farm gate) in the UK each year. This fraction of edible wasted food is known as avoidable food waste. In a circular economy food is a valuable resource that must be captured at all stages of the food supply chain and, where possible, redistributed for consumption. This can prevent avoidable food waste generation, and dissipation of food’s multidimensional value that spans environmental, economic, social, technical and political/organisational impacts. While the importance and benefits of surplus food redistribution have been well documented in the global literature, there are still barriers that prevent perfectly edible food from being wasted. This study looks at the main stages of the food supply chain, and amasses the opportunities, challenges and trade-offs associated with surplus food redistribution to the UK economy. It highlights points in the food system where interventions can be made, to improve food’s circularity and sustainability potential. Stakeholder interrelations, regulatory and socio-economic aspects are discussed in relation to their influence on decreasing avoidable food waste. The main output from this work is a diagrammatic depiction of where challenges and trade-offs occur along the food supply chain, and how policy and socio-economic reforms are needed to maximise avoidable food waste prevention, and the surplus avoidable food redistribution in the food supply chain for social benefit.

Contemporary food systems face several paradoxes regarding equity and sustainability. Considering food production—an issue that simultaneously affects both the supply (production) and demand (consumption) sides—several cities have begun to implement new strategies, called Urban Food Policies. These approaches aim to address the various challenges presented by food system failures, while also involving the existing network of grassroot initiatives. For this reason, these have established Food Policy Councils, arenas where institutions can engage with supply chain actors and food activists, deciding through the processes of participatory democracy their Urban Food Strategies. This article investigates the evolution of a new Urban Food Strategy in a middle-sized Italian town, Trento. Despite a growing number of case studies discussing the promises and problematic aspects of UFS, empirical research and analysis tend to overlook the role of the context in which these processes are embedded and how the system of political, economic, cultural, and environmental opportunities weigh upon the success of these policies. The paper draws upon a multi-method qualitative approach combining in-depth interviews, document analysis, and direct observations of the construction process of an Urban Food Strategy for the city of Trento.

There have been calls for a shift of focus toward the political and power-laden aspects of transitioning toward socially equitable global supply chains. This article offers an empirically grounded response to these calls from a critical realist stance in the context of global food supply chains. We examine how an imaginary for sustainable farming structured around an instrumental construction of empowerment limits what is viewed as permissible, desirable, and possible in global food supply chains. We adopt a multimodal critical discourse analysis to examine the sustainable farming imaginary for smallholder farmers constructed by one large organization, Unilever, in a series of videos produced and disseminated on YouTube. We expose the underlying mechanisms of power and marginalization at work within the sustainability imaginary and show how ‘empowerment’ has the potential to create new dependencies for these farmers. We recontextualize the representations to show that while the imaginary may be commercially feasible, it is less achievable in terms of empowering smallholder farmers.

Research background: International market selection is an essential issue for big companies that supply food products. Different types of decision factors and different characteristics of different international markets have brought up a complicated decision-making problem for food supply companies. In order to select the most suitable and profitable market, food supply companies have to consider several qualitative and quantitative factors, including social, political, economic, and ecological aspects. Purpose of the article: In order to overcome international market selection issues, the current study develops a novel integrated decision-making tool. Methods: A novel decision-making model of market analysis is developed as an extended model of Market Attractiveness and Business Attractiveness (MABA) analysis based on the Multiple Attribute Decision Making (MADM). To improve the MABA analysis model, we combine the EDAS method with MABA analysis to empower decision-makers in food supply companies to evaluate several international markets and select the most profitable market for their products. Findings & value added: In this study, we first identified the most important and frequently used decision factors for market analysis problems within MABA analysis under two categories: market attractiveness and business attractiveness. To show the proposed methodology's applicability and feasibility, we perform a case study for a food supply company in Iran that supplies products to Middle East and Asian countries. In order to investigate the reliability of the obtained results, we perform a sensitivity analysis concerning the importance of involved decision factors. The proposed decision-making tool results suggest that the model can be used as a reliable tool for market analysis problems. To sum up the long-term value of the study, we have developed a novel decision-making tool using MABA analysis and the EDAS method. No study integrates any MCDM methods with MABA analysis to the best of our knowledge. Integration of EDAS method with MABA analysis empowers decision-makers in market selection division to use more systematic methods for evaluating several markets.

Abstract. This paper provides an introduction to the concepts of water security including not only the risks to human wellbeing posed by floods and droughts, but also the threats of inadequate supply of water in both quantity and quality for food production, human health, energy and industrial production, and for the natural ecosystems on which life depends. The overall setting is one of constant change in all aspects of Earth systems. Hydrological systems (processes and regimes) are changing, resulting from varying and changing precipitation and energy inputs, changes in surface covers, mining of groundwater resources, and storage and diversions by dams and infrastructures. Changes in social, political and economic conditions include population and demographic shifts, political realignments, changes in financial systems and in trade patterns. There is an urgent need to address hydrological and social changes simultaneously and in combination rather than as separate entities, and thus the need to develop the approach of ‘socio-hydrology’. All aspects of water security, including the responses of both UNESCO and the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) to the concepts of socio-hydrology, are examined in detailed papers within the volume titled Hydrological Sciences and Water Security: Past, Present and Future.

Global environmental change coupled with increased demand for food and competition for diminishing water places the issue of disaster risk management high on the global political agenda. Drought is one of the most complex natural hazards, affecting natural resources and human development recurrently. Drought affects agricultural production globally, triggering significant food and health insecurity and habitat loss through land degradation and desertification. While the consequences of droughts can usually be predicted, preventive action is frequently absent or insufficient to prevent serious impacts in many regions of the world. We believe that lack of a common understanding of what drought is stands in the way of cohesive anti-drought action. This paper examines drought definitions emerging from influential scholarship, practitioners' discourse and multilateral policy processes that emphasise diverging aspects of the phenomena of dry periods, including the source, duration, spatial extent, impact and affected stakeholders. This paper begins by examining the concepts of hazard and disaster. It then explores the various perceptions associated with drought and the problems posed by inconsistency in definitions. It concludes that a common conceptual understanding of drought is essential for effective action to address the growing need for reliable food supply, poverty alleviation and increased agricultural productivity globally.

Subject. The article discusses the international economic relations. Objectives. I determine Russia's position in the economic relations of the USA and China. Methods. The study is based on the systems approach and the method of statistical, neural network and cluster analysis. Results. I discovered the persisting dominance of the USA over the world economy due to a growth in broad money supply, which makes it the leader in food exports, trade balance and industrial exports. The same reasons helps the USA constrain some material aspects of economic growth in Russia and China, such as inflation, direct foreign investment, ultimate consumption spending, real interest rate, the ratio of broad money supply to total reserves, total value of traded stocks, export of food, goods and services. Trends in SPX, SHCOMP, RTSI и DXY, USDRUB, USDCNY, USDBRO shows that China strives to reach the U.S. economic level given the stable exchange rate. Raising USDRUB, Russia approaches DXY. In case of low USDBRO, RTSI growth will be significantly curbed. Considering commodities within foreign trade between Russia, the USA and China, I should point out resource exports, while importing technology from the USA and equipment from China. Conclusions and Relevance. Studying Russia's position in the U.S.–Chinese economic relations, I found that the Russian government should revise foreign trade priorities to end the political and economic independence on the above relations. The findings contribute to the knowledge and competence of the Russian government members for making complementary administrative decision on sources of foreign trade and seizing opportunities for encouraging it.

The food security crisis which gripped the sub Sahara Africa after the drought in 1999/2000 threatened development initiatives in these countries. Zimbabwe&rsquo
s situation has since worsened and the country has failed to recuperate from the food problems, even after an improvement in the climatic conditions. International and local food aid activities then became a priority in the fight to sustain the right to food for the affected regions. It is argued in this research that if food aid is distributed on the basis of need it will enable the vulnerable populations recuperate form food insecurity problems. It is also postulated that if well implemented, food aid programmes are also able to play the dual role of averting starvation and leading to long term development. This thesis departs from the allegations of food aid politicisation in Zimbabwe.

Using the rational choice and neopatrimonial theories of individual behaviour, this research endeavored to ascertain whether political decisions influenced the government food aid distributions which were conducted through the Grain Marketing Board. In line with these theories, it is argued in this study that politicians behave in a manner that maximizes the fulfillment of their individual needs rather than the needs of the people who vote them in positions of power.

A qualitative approach was adopted in this study and data was gathered through household interviews in the Seke and Goromonzi districts of the Mashonaland East province in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with food aid experts from the governmental and non governmental organisations dealing with food security issues in Zimbabwe.

In Kisangani, as in other parts of Africa subject to political parasitism and economic chaos, people have had to draw on many channels of access to resources in order to survive. This pattern of shifting strategies militates against sustained investment in food supply and thus is a major factor in the food crisis in Africa. Thirteen months of fieldwork in the city of Kisangani and the surrounding subregion of Tshopo revealed how constantly changing regulations, inflation and poor infrastructure forced merchants and farmers into diversification and made long-term investment in rice production and trade risky. Uncertainty in the supply of basic resources such as credit, seeds, fuel, spare parts and produce sacks was linked to the draining of foreign exchange and development funds toward the nonproductive activities of the political élite. Controls on agricultural production such as the forced cultivation of rice led to suppression of African farmers' initiative. Trade in rice was in the hands of expatriate monopsonies until the 1970s, but the indigenization of expatriate businesses and plantations (zairianization) only served to isolate further the rural areas devastated by the Simba rebellion of the mid-1960s. In addition, zairianization fostered parasitism and discouraged investment. In the 1980s, farmers were blocked from organizing their own markets and cooperatives and farm labor was relegated telwomen. Large traders agreed to maintain controls on trade which perpetuated the bureaucracy in order to keep ahead of the mass of mobile small traders. Government programs, and approaches such as privatization and liberalization, initiated by Zaire's external investors, did not change the terms of access to resources within the Zairian economy and, thus, agricultural productivity did not increase. These findings support the theory that multiple survival strategies generated by economic chaos and circumvention of and collaboration with the state lead to declining agricultural productivity. This view has implications for agricultural development policy.

Water is recognised as a key driver for social and economic development in the Zambezi basin. The basin is riparian to eight southern African countries and the transboundary nature of the basin’s water resources can be viewed as an agent of cooperation between the basin countries. It is possible, however, that the same water resource can lead to conflicts between water users. The southern African Water Vision for ‘equitable and sustainable utilisation of water for social, environmental justice and economic benefits for the present and future generations’ calls for an integrated and efficient management of water resources within the basin. Ensuring water and food security in the Zambezi basin is, however, faced with challenges due to high variability in climate and the available water resources. Water resources are under continuous threat from pollution, increased population growth, development and urbanisation as well as global climate change. These factors increase the demand for freshwater resources and have resulted in water being one of the major driving forces for development. The basin is also vulnerable due to lack of adequate financial resources and appropriate water resources infrastructure to enable viable, equitable and sustainable distribution of the water resources. This is in addition to the fact that the basin’s economic mainstay and social well-being are largely dependent on rainfed agriculture. There is also competition among the different water users and this has the potential to generate conflicts, which further hinder the development of water resources in the basin. This thesis has focused on the Zambezi River basin emphasising climate variability and climate change. It is now considered common knowledge that the global climate is changing and that many of the impacts will be felt through water resources. If these predictions are correct then the Zambezi basin is most likely to suffer under such impacts since its economic mainstay is largely determined by the availability of rainfall. It is the belief of this study that in order to ascertain the impacts of climate change, there should be a basis against which this change is evaluated. If we do not know the historical patterns of variability it may be difficult to predict changes in the future climate and in the hydrological resources and it will certainly be difficult to develop appropriate management strategies. Reliable quantitative estimates of water availability are a prerequisite for successful water resource plans. However, such initiatives have been hindered by paucity in data especially in a basin where gauging networks are inadequate and some of them have deteriorated. This is further compounded by shortages in resources, both human and financial, to ensure adequate monitoring. To address the data problems, this study largely relied on global data sets and the CRU TS2.1 rainfall grids were used for a large part of this study. The study starts by assessing the historical variability of rainfall and streamflow in the Zambezi basin and the results are used to inform the prediction of change in the future. Various methods of assessing historical trends were employed and regional drought indices were generated and evaluated against the historical rainfall trends. The study clearly demonstrates that the basin has a high degree of temporal and spatial variability in rainfall and streamflow at inter-annual and multi-decadal scales. The Standardised Precipitation Index, a rainfall based drought index, is used to assess historical drought events in the basin and it is shown that most of the droughts that have occurred were influenced by climatic and hydrological variability. It is concluded, through the evaluation of agricultural maize yields, that the basin’s food security is mostly constrained by the availability of rainfall. Comparing the viability of using a rainfall based index to a soil moisture based index as an agricultural drought indicator, this study concluded that a soil moisture based index is a better indicator since all of the water balance components are considered in the generation of the index. This index presents the actual amount of water available for the plant unlike purely rainfall based indices, that do not account for other components of the water budget that cause water losses. A number of challenges were, however, faced in assessing the variability and historical drought conditions, mainly due to the fact that most parts of the Zambezi basin are ungauged and available data are sparse, short and not continuous (with missing gaps). Hydrological modelling is frequently used to bridge the data gap and to facilitate the quantification of a basin’s hydrology for both gauged and ungauged catchments. The trend has been to use various methods of regionalisation to transfer information from gauged basins, or from basins with adequate physical basin data, to ungauged basins. All this is done to ensure that water resources are accounted for and that the future can be well planned. A number of approaches leading to the evaluation of the basin’s hydrological response to future climate change scenarios are taken. The Pitman rainfall-runoff model has enjoyed wide use as a water resources estimation tool in southern Africa. The model has been calibrated for the Zambezi basin but it should be acknowledged that any hydrological modelling process is characterised by many uncertainties arising from limitations in input data and inherent model structural uncertainty. The calibration process is thus carried out in a manner that embraces some of the uncertainties. Initial ranges of parameter values (maximum and minimum) that incorporate the possible parameter uncertainties are assigned in relation to physical basin properties. These parameter sets are used as input to the uncertainty version of the model to generate behavioural parameter space which is then further modified through manual calibration. The use of parameter ranges initially guided by the basin physical properties generates streamflows that adequately represent the historically observed amounts. This study concludes that the uncertainty framework and the Pitman model perform quite well in the Zambezi basin. Based on assumptions of an intensifying hydrological cycle, climate changes are frequently expected to result in negative impacts on water resources. However, it is important that basin scale assessments are undertaken so that appropriate future management strategies can be developed. To assess the likely changes in the Zambezi basin, the calibrated Pitman model was forced with downscaled and bias corrected GCM data. Three GCMs were used for this study, namely; ECHAM, GFDL and IPSL. The general observation made in this study is that the near future (2046-2065) conditions of the Zambezi basin are expected to remain within the ranges of historically observed variability. The differences between the predictions for the three GCMs are an indication of the uncertainties in the future and it has not been possible to make any firm conclusions about directions of change. It is therefore recommended that future water resources management strategies account for historical patterns of variability, but also for increased uncertainty. Any management strategies that are able to satisfactorily deal with the large variability that is evident from the historical data should be robust enough to account for the near future patterns of water availability predicted by this study. However, the uncertainties in these predictions suggest that improved monitoring systems are required to provide additional data against which future model outputs can be assessed.

Zambia is one of the Southern African countries that experienced drought between 2001 and 2003. As a result the country had low levels of maize harvest, which is the country's main staple food. The Zambian population depends on maize for both household food security and cash. For this reason the Government of Zambia appealed for help from the international community in order to meet the shortfall of maize with a view to feeding its starving population, particularly in the rural areas. In response to the government's appeal, World Food Programme, (WFP) a United Nations Food agency brought assistance in the form of 27,000 tonnes of genetically modified (GM) maize into the country in July 2002. The Zambian government, however, rejected GM maize in both grain and milled forms, citing health, environmental and trade concerns with the European Union. Thus the focus of the research was to understand, on one hand the government's action of rejecting GM maize as food aid, while on the other hand accepting that drought-stricken small-scale farmers would go hungry as a result of this decision. Understanding the perceptions of government action was therefore essential to understanding the situation the situation fully. In other words, was it a good scientifically based government decision, or was it one made for political gain? Moreover, the purpose of this research was to present arguments about the safety and benefits of Genetic Modification technology for the world, particularly the developing countries. The findings of the study were that the levels of GM technology awareness in Zambia low among technocrats and too low among the rest of the population. To this end, government officials, relevant NGOs and small scale farmers were interviewed. In addition, small scale farmers in Chongwe and Magoye participated in focus group discussions. The findings were that although the Chongwe community experienced drought in their area, they were of the view that the government was justified in rejecting the GM maize from 2001-12 because they did not want to contaminate their land which they regarded as very suitable for farming. On the contrary, the Magoye people were among the communities that had been anxious to get food and were therefore not happy with the government's decision. The hunger suffered at the time in this community caused them to loot the government stores of GM Maize (provided as food aid) before the government could recall the stocks. The issue of access to the GM maize was apparently more important than debating on the potential impacts that might have occurred to their community. Other findings were the Zambian government's decision to reject GM maize (as food aid) impacted negatively, both economically and socially, in these areas. The majority of small-scale farmers experienced food shortages and resorted to various coping strategies such as picking wild-fruits and roots in the bush in order for them to survive.
Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Ruling Appetites: The Politics of Diet in Early Modern English Literature reveals how eating became inseparable from political and social identity in the early modern English imaginary, and the instrumental role that poets, playwrights, and polemicists played in shaping a growing perception of diet as a primary means of driving social change. From the late Elizabethan period through the Restoration, recurrent harvest failures and unstable infrastructure led to widespread food insecurity and even starvation across England. At once literary producers and concerned social agents, many major early modern authors were closely engaged with some of the worst hunger crises in English history. The pointed and detailed attention to food in early modern literature, from luxurious banquets to bare cupboards, I argue, arose from real concerns over the problem of hunger facing the country. I demonstrate how authors developed literary forms seeking to explain and respond to how changing dietary habits and food distribution practices were reshaping their communities. Moreover, early modern authors turned to food not just as a topical referent or as a metaphorical vehicle but rather as a structural concern that could be materially addressed through literary means. Each chapter of “Ruling Appetites” centers on particular literary techniques—verse forms, stage characters, theatrical set pieces, or narrative tropes—through which authors examined how food influenced economic, social, and political reality. Literary form, in its openness to experimentation and innovation, allowed authors to address how early modern England’s changing dietary culture was transforming its material, social, and imaginative landscape.

Text in Afrikaans
Summaries in Afrikaans and English
Miljoene mense ervaar voedselonsekerheid en een uit elke 50 hanger mense is woonagtig in Suid­ Afrika. Daar is genoeg voedsel op ons planeet om elke mens van 'n voldoende voorraad voedsel te verseker; dit waarborg egter nie voedselsekuriteit aan almal nie. Dit is die voedselparadoks: ondanks globale surplusproduksie van voedsel, ly miljoene mense wereldwyd aan wanvoeding en honger, maar veral in die ontwikkelende lande. Suid-Afrika is geen uitsondering nie en ten spyte van selfvoorsiening in voedsel, balanseer die voedselgelykstelling nie. Daar bestaan 'n ekstreme gaping tussen die produksie en verbruik van voedsel. Gevolglik is die probleem wat nagevors is in hierdie studie die gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit binne 'n wereldkonteks met voedselsurplusse en hoe dit reflekteer in Suid-Afrika. Teen hierdie agtergrond is daar 'n studie gedoen van die oorsake van voedselonsekerheid en die teoriee en verduidelikings van hongersnood. Die fokus van hierdie navorsingstudie is drieledig van aard. Eerstens fokus dit op 'n konseptuele ondersoek na hanger, armoede, voedselsekuriteit en hongersnood in Afrika. Tweedens is ondersoek ingestel na die oorsake vir die gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit in Afrika. Derdens is daar gefokus op Suid-Afrika en is 'n ondersoek gedoen na die voorkoms van hanger, wanvoeding, armoede en die nasionale konteks van voedselsekuriteit met die doel om vraagstukke daaromheen te identifiseer. Daar is bevind dat voedselsekuriteit bepaal word deur die beskikbaarheid van voedsel (aanbod) en die vermoe van mense om dit te bekom (aanvraag). Dit blyk dat die ontwikkelingsproses, regeringsbeleid, ekologiese omgewing en tegnologie, wetenskap en navorsing 'n direkte invloed het op die voedselsekuriteit van mense, en dat Suid-Afrika nie verskil van ander Afrikalande in hierdie verband nie. Hoewel Suid-Afrika voedselselfvoorsiening bereik het, ly miljoene mense honger weens armoede en die gebrek aan aansprake wat bydra tot 'n gebrek aan voedselsekuriteit. Die studie toon dat die Suid-Afrikaanse regering verskeie beleidsmaatreels in plek het ter bevordering van voedselsekuriteit, maar dat dit nie in die praktyk verwesenlik word nie.
Millions of people in the world experience food insecurity and one out ofevery 50 hungry people lives in South Africa. There is enough food on our planet to assure every person of an adequate supply of food; however, this does not guarantee food security for all. This is the food paradox: despite a global surplus production of food, millions of people experience malnutrition and hunger all over the world, but especially in the developing countries. South Africa is no exception and despite self-sufficiency in food, the food equation is not balanced. An extreme gap exists between the production and consumption of food. Consequently, the problem researched in this study is the lack of food security in a world context with surplus food and how this is reflected in South Africa. Against this background a study was undertaken of the causes of food insecurity and the theories and explanations of famine. The focus of this research study is threefold. Firstly it focuses on a conceptual enquiry intohunger, poverty, food security and famine in Africa. Secondly there is an enquiry into the causes of the lack of food security in Africa. Thirdly it focuses on South Africa and an enquiry is done into the incidence of hunger, malnutrition and poverty, and into the national context of food security with the aim of identifying relevant problems in food security. It was found that food security is determined by the availability of food (supply) and the capability of people to obtain it (demand). It appears that the development process, government policy, ecological environment and technology, science and research directly affect the food security of people, and that South Africa does not differ from other African countries in this regard. Although South Africa has achieved food self-sufficiency, millions of people experience hunger because of poverty and the lack of entitlements. The study shows that the South African government has various policy measures for the promotion of food security in place, but that food security does not materialise in practice.
Development Studies
D.Litt. et Phil. (Ontwikkelingsadministrasie)

This chapter reflects the consequences of an established system of poverty relief: German foodbanks (Tafeln), which meanwhile have become part of the basic food supply of many citizens. Even if Tafeln consider themselves as a social movement they more and more appear as moral enterprises. This requires the analysis of the fundamental mechanisms within the economy of poverty, such as the commercialization of morals and the corresponding corruption of values. German foodbanks predominantly find their resonance in the system of economy. On the basis of reliable relationships to their moral clients, foodbanks are supplied with goods, equipment and services. The product they offer in return is a moral profit in the form of a positive image, which is useful in the context of Corporate Social Responsibility activities. As a social enterprise foodbanks imitate and emulate the prevailing economic rationality on every level from local practices to long-term strategies. This encompasses aspects such as differentiation of their range of products, securing the availability of their supply, quality management, professionalization as well as the efficiency enhancement. With their trademark protection and branding as Tafel, German foodbanks have emerged as monopolists on the market of pity, driving off other projects according to the logic of competition. The chapter comes to the conclusion that we have arrived in a society of spectacles in which it is becoming easier to receive public approval for symbolic poverty relief than it is to establish political legitimacy through sustainable fight for poverty reduction.

This study defined morphological importance of cultural heritage assets and formation of Egba-Ake town. Cultural heritages include man’s physical imaginative products which can be touched and seen include buildings, crafts, tools, ivory, cowries, paintings, textiles, pestles, mortars, food, wooden objects, tombs & grave goods, temples, dresses, pottery & potsherd pavements, monuments, books and artifacts. Morphology are factors that influence city/community formation which are determined by synthetic and natural determinants. Cultural heritage assets are whatever is valued by people today that was also cherished by former generations. This research explored the importance of cultural heritage assets in relation to urban fabrics formation of Egba-Ake. Qualitative method was adopted in this study, in-depth interviews and personal observation was used for data collection while Nvivo words tree and satellite imagery was used to analyze collected data. Ake’s palace and Itoku market is located at the center around which the Egba-Ake evolved. Ake’s Palace (political and cultural hub of the town) and Itoku market (the economic heritage of the town) was used to preserve various aspects of Egba-Ake cultural heritage. Ela festival (new yam festival) is annually celebrated cultural activity in Egba-Ake. This finding is relevant to policy makers as it allows the support of potential common structures for heritage administration in Egba-Ake. Effect of heritage in EgbaAke morphology is the new palace of Alake (the cultural ruler) of Egba-Ake were renovated and new once built a few years ago with modern architectural designs, furniture and fittings. This has made the Alake’s Palace to meet ‘international standards’. Social amenities and infrastructures like electricity supply, water systems, hospitals, good roads, administrative offices, schools; communication networks, etc. are now a major feature in Egba-Ake town. Further studies will enhance the implementation issues which may arise from the creation of a framework for cultural heritage management, with emphasis on risk management and risk reduction of cultural heritage.