Thumbs up
for Pick n Pay
BUSINESS BUZZ
Photo: Gus Waschefort
By Tasha Tollman
A City Where Too Many Go Hungry
Food security is defined by the World
Health Organisation as “when all people at
all times have access to sufficient, safe,
nutritious food to maintain a healthy and
active lifestyle.”
So how food secure are we in South Africa?
A study by analysts, as reported in the Joburg 2040, Growth
and Development Strategy, looked at how many people in
South Africa went without food on a regular basis, using the
measurement of not having food to eat between 3 to 10 times
in a four week period. Their findings were that three cities in
South Africa showed alarmingly high levels of food insecurity
– namely, Cape Town, Msunduzi and Johannesburg. The
Urban Food Security Baseline Survey (UFSBS) conducted in
late 2008 found that 70% of urban poor go hungry in these
three cities.
It seems that our best chance for food security will come not
from depending on commercial farmers, whose numbers
have decreased to around 40 000 but from emerging smallscale farmers and producers, currently estimated to be
around 250 000, supported by private investment and
enterprise partnering. So how are we as business supporting
small-scale farmers and producers?
Vodafone commissioned Accenture to research “the role of
mobile in driving efficiency and sustainability in the food an d
value chain.” This research identified a number of key
communication needs experienced by emerging farmers
such as the need to minimize farming risks through access to
information about weather conditions and weather variations,
on when to begin and end planting certain crops and to help
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Photo: Pieter de Ras
manage stock theft through tracking of livestock. Mobile
devices could also be used as a teaching method, connecting
farmers to each other and helping them to teach each other
how to farm inside their areas. A further use for mobiles
would be to create a virtual market place where people can
exchange services and goods and identify where they can
trade. It will be interesting to track how Vodafone responds to
these needs.
Gaining access to market, especially given the high
standards demanded by retailers, is one of the major
stumbling blocks facing emerging farmers and producers.
Through partnership in this area, Pick n Pay are bringing
more and more small-scale farmers and producers into the
supply chain and their Organic Farmer/Retailer Programme
assists organic, smallholder farmers to meet the
requirements of formal retailers by providing technical
assistance around retailers' procurement processes, product
specifications and demand. This programme also seeks to
encourage retailers and consumers to demand larger
quantities and varieties of organic produce, this is necessary
as many consumers believe that organic is an expensive
alternative to conventional farm produce. Pick n Pay is the
first retailer to agree to dedicated shelf space to smallholder
farmers' organic produce in 50 stores countrywide, at prices
competitive with those of the conventionally farmed produce.
Thumbs up to Vodafone and Pick n Pay for linking their core
businesses to these CSR initiative. This is what makes social
responsibility sustainable!
Share your food security initiatives with us and help inspire
sustainable development in South Africa.
CORPORATE SOCIAL REVIEW