Gauteng Smallholder December/ January 2018 | Page 13

#SAFoodCrisis
A majority of vulnerable
South Africans can!t afford
a diet that guarantees
sufficient nutrition
From page 9
Smallholder farmers who with
to make a profit from their
efforts, therefore, should avoid
selling through the market
system at all costs. Rather, they
should seek out niche markets
close to their land, by
supplying schools, restaurants,
shops or hotels in their area
directly, or by growing
specialist commodities for
carefully defined groups, such
as growing for the organic
market or for those with
special dietary needs,
foreigners seeking a taste of
home or for export.
As far as consumers are
concerned, high food prices
make it impossible for families
at the lower end of the
income scale to feed them-
selves a nutritious diet, and
doubly impossible for families
that are unemployed to do so.
And with upwards of 28% of
the working population
currently unemployed this
amounts to a large number of
South Africa's most vulnerable
who do not enjoy a nutritious
diet.
Even if the government were
to introduce its much vaunted
national minimum wage it will
be impossible for families at
this level of wage to enjoy a
nutritious diet at current food
price levels.
Similarly, families that have to
rely on the social grant system,
either as adults or as recipients
of a child grant, are unable to
enjoy a sufficiently nutritious
diet at current food price
levels.
In reality this means that
somewhere approaching half
of the South African popula-
tion does not enjoy a diet
sufficiently rich in protein,
minerals and vitamins to
ensure them optimal health.
The result of a sustained poor
diet manifests itself in ways
that have a number of impacts
on areas such as education
and public health.
A poor diet among children,
for example, leads to stunting,
ie poor bone mas s develop-
ment, among other health
outcomes, as well as impaired
education outcomes simply
because a child who is
constantly hungry is unable to
concentrate for long periods in
the classroom.
Stunting in childhood, and
continued poor nutrition in
adulthood leads to a number
of key lifestyle diseases such as
obesity, diabetes and heart
conditions, which in turn have
implication for the public
health sector and the
workforce.
The living arrangements and
lifestyle of urban South
Africans mean that very few
families grow their own fruit
and vegetables, and calls for
individuals to turn available
land into productive food
gardens are futile and
condescending. The working
day for most township
dwellers, with its long
commuting times starts way
too early and ends far too late
to allow such individuals time
to garden. Also space
limitations, lack of water and
theft militate against such
activities.
Attempts by government
departments, NGOs and
municipalities to develop and
encourage township food
gardens often fail after a
season or two through a lack
of on-going support and
dwindling interest among the
participants. The lack of
enthusiasm for such projects is
often exacerbated by the top-
down approach adopted by
the organisers which is seen as
Continued on page 12
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