Future Researchers 6th Edition - Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security

FOREWORD BUILDING RESILIENCE IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN FOOD SYSTEM

PROF N. LUDIDI

The aim of the second goal of the United Nations in its Sustainable Development Goals programme (SDG2) is to free the world from hunger in all its forms by 2030. This requires that action must be taken to ensure that the current 2,4 billion food insecure people in the world (more than 30% of the world population) attain food security by 2030. For this to be realised, all people in the world must have “physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life” at any moment. This is based on the definition of food security as established by the 1996 World Food Summit. However, the structure of the South African Food System has various structural defects that hinder the attainment of SDG 2. This is evident from the fact that, despite South Africa being in the upper middle-income group countries globally, a significant portion of the country’s population suffers from either undernutrition or overnutrition. Furthermore, the majority of South Africa’s food production relies mainly on systems that negatively impact sustainability, inclusiveness and territorial balance.

Despite the fact that South Africa has a positive food balance (i.e., there is sufficient food in the country’s food system) and there are policy interventions to reduce food insecurity, food insecurity is persistent. This challenge is exacerbated by increased environmental degradation as a consequence of the agricultural techniques used in food production, which is also linked to the effects of climate change on the environment. Adding to the complexity of the challenges in our country’s food system are asymmetries in factors that influence food value chains and food governance.

In an effort to address the above-mentioned challenges, the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), which is led by the University of the Western Cape and co-led by the University of Pretoria, conducts research that develops solutions to ensure that diverse, nutrient dense and safe foods are the focus for access to healthy diets that are inclusively attainable for the broader South African population. This is coupled to activities that are geared towards transition to agroecology-based systems as means to achieve sustainable food production, with emphasis on the importance of smallholder farmers demonstrating the benefits of such systems to encourage their adoption by large scale farmers. The CoE-FS plays a critical role in developing information and strategies for catalysing reform in government policies towards the adoption of an integrated approach that will build an inclusive food system to ensure food security for all South Africans, and from and to which the broader African continent can learn and contribute. This is supported by initiatives within the CoE-FS that encourages inclusive participation of the various stakeholders in the food system of the country towards enhanced engagement that emphasises place-based approaches to the governance of the food system. All the research and engagement activities of the CoE-FS are rooted in and anchored on postgraduate student education, training and capacity development, which nurtures graduates towards competence in order to provide efficient and effective solutions to multifaceted and complex real-world challenges.

“My role as a Principal Investigator and Member of the Management Committee in the CoE-FS, and a 1-year period in which I was Acting Director of the CoE-FS (June 2019 – June 2020), has contributed immensely to my understanding of the approaches used in interdisciplinary research for developing multifaceted solutions to complex challenges, such as those identified in the food system of South Africa. Galvanising the role that the UWC plays in food systems transformation through the CoE-FS must be seen as crucial, not only to the elimination of hunger (SDG2), but to the reduction of poverty, which refers to SDG 1.”

MEET OUR RESEARCHERS IN THE FIELD OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AND FOOD SECURITY

TAMRYN FRANK

FOOD SECURITY

Tamryn is a researcher at the University of the Western Cape’s (UWC) School of Public Health in South Africa (SA).

She has just completed her PhD in Public Health at UWC. She holds a Master’s degree in nutrition, human rights and governance from the University of Stellenbosch (in collaboration with Makerere University in Uganda and Oslo University in Norway). She spent 2022 as a visiting scholar at the University of North Carolina’s Global Food Research Program in the USA. Prior to this she worked for four years as a researcher at the UWC’s School of Public Health in a team that developed a nutrient profiling model and front-of-package warning labels for SA. She is

directed marketing research, and assessing the effectiveness of the sugary beverage tax in SA. She is currently serving on the technical working group advising the SA National Department of Health on nutrient profiling and front-of-package labelling. Before branching out into academia, Tamryn worked as a primary health care dietitian for the SA Department of Health, both in the Eastern and Western Cape for eight years.

What is your work about?

I am involved in research that focuses on policies to improve the food environment and make healthy food choices easy and feasible for all. The focus of my PhD research has been on developing a nutrient profiling model to identify unhealthy foods in South Africa, and to evaluate the types of food low-income South Africans are consuming. I am involved in several related projects, including developing front-of-package warning labels for South Africa, and assessing different types of food marketing. This research has informed my work as part of the technical working group that advises the South African National Department of Health on nutrient profiling and front-of-package labelling. I have also been involved in assessing the effectiveness of the Health Promotion Levy (the sugary beverage tax).

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals?

Nutrition is interrelated with so many fields, and one can find links with almost all the Sustainable Development Goals. However, goal two (to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition) and goal three (to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages) resonate most closely with my research.

South Africa is facing a rising prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, and type 2 diabetes. There is no universally accepted definition for what an unhealthy food is. However, when it comes to implementing countrylevel food policies, it is important to have a clear definition. The nutrient profiling model I have been involved in developing

identifies unhealthy foods that we should try to limit. This can be used to underpin country-level food policies, such as identifying unhealthy foods that should not be advertised to children, or foods that should carry warning labels.

How is it impacting your community?

Before becoming a researcher, I worked for eight years as a primary healthcare dietitian. However, after having to advise people, over and over again, to consume more fruit and vegetables when I knew very well that they couldn’t afford it I made the decision to move into a field that focuses on improving the food environment at a national level. I believe the entire food system in the country needs to be overhauled to improve the health and wellbeing of South Africans. I have had the privilege to be involved in work that is influencing national policy in South Africa. My PhD research has informed the Draft R2986 Regulations relating to the labelling and advertising of foodstuffs, which was published in the Government Gazette for public comment earlier this year and proposes warning labels on unhealthy foods, as well as restricting on-package marketing of unhealthy products. Additionally, as a result of my involvement in South Africa, I have been able to provide input into this area of research in the broader African region, including providing support to Kenya, Ghana and Ethiopia on similar policies that they are considering to implement.

“ I am involved in research that focuses on policies to improve the food environment and make healthy food choices easy and feasible for all.”

KESHIA HOAEANE

governance, and policy.  Her research adopts a transversal governance approach and investigates food governance in the Western Cape where the provincial government designed a food security strategy: Nourish to Flourish (N2F). Her research is in collaboration with the Policy, Strategy and Research Unit, Department of the Premier in the Western Cape Government. The aim of the research is firstly to investigate how place-based approaches at the municipal level could be used and help to improve food governance. Secondly, to develop an area-based governance model that facilitates coordinated action in response to food systems’ change, which is central to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

With her research team in the Policy and Governance programme of the CoE-FS, Keshia has contributed to the development of the Western Cape Food Governance Community of Practice, which has resulted in a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform named Food Imbizo.  Foodimbizo.org

How is it impacting your community?

FOOD SECURITY

Alumna and researcher at NRF-DSI Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS) at the University of the Western Cape.

Keshia obtained her Bachelor of Public Administration (Honours) and Master of Public Administration with the School of Government at the UWC. In November 2022, she was selected and part of the first ever Makerere University and Bergen Research School (MBRS) in Uganda and graduated from the programme (Food and Water Security in a changing World).

What is/was your work about?

Keshia’s PhD in the Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE) focuses on food systems,

She is also involved in the Western Cape Economic Development Partnership’s activities related to the Whole of Society approach, central to her PhD research. She recently provided support to the multi-stakeholder consultations organised for the rapid food system assessment of South Africa launched by the FAO and the European Union in direct coordination with the government.

She has worked on joint projects with local and provincial governments in two places: Langa in Cape Town, and Worcester in the Breede Valley. Keshia discussed options for local approaches to improve households’ food and nutrition with NGOs, grassroots organisations working within the food system, including practitioners focused on Early Childhood Development centres and advocacy groups.  https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=1UEbFTXOPUA

Action-research is central to the transformation of local governance and helps to generate knowledge to inform practices and to study governance

practices to expand and deepen knowledge in local food governance. It unites stakeholders to improve public policies, better legislation, and investment in infrastructure and programmes to accelerate food system transitions to sustainability and resilience in the long term.

She believes the starting point to development should be the people and that the essence of

development is changing the quality of life of the bottom half of the population. All these experiences in her research were formative in shaping her view of the food system as well as her philosophy towards education and it has shaped her PhD journey.

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If we don’t recognise ourselves as part of the problem, we can’t be part of the solution.”

TINASHE P. KANOSVAMHIRA

FOOD SECURITY

Tinashe is an urban geographer. His research interests are drawn from a broad range of sociospatial issues, including urban governance, livelihood strategies of the urban poor, urban food security, urban food systems, and neoliberal

teaching assistant and part-time lecturer in the department of Geography, Environmental Studies & Tourism.

What is/was your work about?

My name is Tinashe P. Kanosvamhira, and I’m from Bulawayo. I graduated with a Ph.D. in September 2022. I am a part-time urban geography lecturer at the University of the Western Cape, where I lecture several undergraduate and post-graduate modules in the Department of Geography, Environmental Studies, and Tourism. My Ph.D. research focused on exploring the nexus between urban community gardens and food justice. Food justice aims to address disparities in food access, particularly in communities of colour and low-income communities, by examining the structural roots of the corporate

How is it impacting your community?

My doctoral study was conducted in different neighbourhoods of the Cape Flats region of Cape Town, South Africa, where hundreds of urban farmers cultivate vegetables in groups, mainly on municipal and school land. Food apartheid is a daily reality in this area due to the systemic segregation that divided access to nutritious food under apartheid and is perpetuated by the corporate food system. I conducted in-depth interviews with 34 urban community garden leaders, 32 civil society actors, and local and provincial officials who support urban community gardens in the area over a period of 20 months. The use of semi-structured interviews aimed to gather qualitative information. I found that some urban community gardens are consciously promoting food justice through the de-commodification of agroecological vegetables, improved access to agroecological vegetables, and the conscientization of local communities on food rights. My research shows that more coordination is required to create an effective movement

that could have a more impactful and sustained role in the promotion of food justice within these distressed communities. I don’t seek to romanticise urban community gardens as a solution to the food injustice in these areas, but it is important to acknowledge the role these transformative urban spaces can play in enlightening the community on structural problems presented by the current corporate food system.

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

My research aligns with Sustainable Goal 11Sustainable Cities and Communities because it argues that urban community gardens present transformative spaces that promote more sustainable value chains that benefit the distressed neighbourhoods of the Cape Flats of Cape Town, South Africa. Urban community gardens can help to educate the broader community on issues relating to the inequality of the food system and also facilitate the organisation of urban farmers for purposes that go beyond cultivation to education for the broader disadvantaged communities. The results of this study have been communicated back to the various communities involved, as well as the most important stakeholders, in the hope that the information can be useful in enhancing urban agriculture in the city.

“I don’t seek to romanticise urban community gardens as a solution to the food injustice in these areas, but it is important to acknowledge the role these transformative urban spaces can play in enlightening the community on structural problems presented by the current corporate food system.”

EDEN KEYSTER

Tylosema fassoglense, one of the species known as Marama bean or Tamani berry. The Marama bean is an uncultivated legume that only occurs in Africa and has been traditionally gathered by the Khoisan and Black African people of Southern and Eastern Africa. This plant grows in some deserts or grassy woodlands and is capable of surviving long periods of drought. My research aims to determine how the plants’ response to drought correlates molecularly. How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

FOOD SECURITY/AGRICULTURE

I am Eden Keyster, born and bred in Bellville, Cape Town. Currently a PhD candidate in the Plant Biotechnology Research Group (PBRG) under the supervision of Prof. Ndiko Ludidi.

My current research topic is ‘The molecular characterization of Tylosema fassoglense in response to drought stress’. My journey in science started when I was very young and the passion for science fuelled me to complete my undergraduate and postgraduate studies (Honours and Master’s) at the University of the Western Cape. I have the privilege of being awarded a full scholarship bursary funded by the National Research Foundation.

What is/was your work about?

I’m currently focusing on orphan crops in South Africa. These crops are indigenous and mostly grown by small and marginal farming systems. Most of these crops have a high nutritional profile but are also underutilised and receive little attention in research and breeding. My research focuses on the legume

This approach to crop diversification is to support human nutrition in Africa on orphan crops, which are rich in vitamins and micronutrients. Nutritionists, ecologists, agronomists and crop breeders have come to realise the important role that the strategic promotion of orphan crops may play in enhancing human diets and enabling more efficient and environmentally sustainable food production in Africa. A particular need is to increase the ‘nutritional resilience’ of food systems to the negative effects of climate change on the food supply. My work aims to alleviate poverty by implementing such orphan crops into the food system, especially for small-scale farmers, as such crops require low-input production. In this manner we aim to achieve zero hunger and aim to improve the health of many people who suffer from malnutrition by supporting African consumers’ diets and African farmers’ income. There is a growing recognition that the use of locally available resources such as orphan crops can contribute to adapting to climate variability and change. Importantly, the project will generate some of the essential resources required to develop T. fassoglense into a cultivable crop that will contribute to sustainable food systems and food security in arid and semiarid regions of Africa. Orphan crops could support and strengthen the existing food systems to deliver sustainable diets as they are economically, socially, and environmentally sound. Promoting gender equality and women empowerment is linked to the strengthening of sustainable food systems to fight hunger and malnutrition and improve the livelihoods of rural populations.

How is it impacting your community?

Orphan crops may offer ‘new’ opportunities in the advent of climate change as they are uniquely suited to local harsh environments, provide nutritional diversity, and enhance agrobiodiversity within farmer fields and home gardens. My research can shed light onto the molecular basis of stress response in the Marama bean that may turn it into a cultivable crop and also re-introduce forgotten crops that were once used for traditional and medicinal purposes. Orphan crops could support and strengthen the

existing food systems to deliver sustainable diets as they are economically, socially, and environmentally sound. Small communities can utilise the opportunity of understanding and having the freedom of growing their own food. This can also create job opportunities and also aid in improving skills in local farming. My research can also give more insight for future research in indigenous crops and can improve understanding in the type of crops we can utilise to improve food security in Africa.

“My journey in science started when I was very young and the passion for science fuelled me to complete my undergraduate and postgraduate studies (Honours and Master’s) at the University of the Western Cape.”

NOLUKHOLO MABHARWANA

AGRICULTURE

Senior Researcher in the Equitable Education and Economies Division at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC).

Nolukholo Mabharwana is a senior researcher at the Human Sciences Research Council where she works on the Climate, Land and Agri-Food Systems Working group. She received her academic training at the University of the Western Cape (UWC) where she completed degrees in Bachelor of Arts, BSc (Hons) Population Studies, Postgraduate Diploma in Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and Master of Development Studies. Nolukholo served as a student leader up to the capacity of Deputy President and subsequently President of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in the period 2016/2017.

What is/was your work about?

She led a student leadership delegation to the University of Missouri in the United States of America with the UWC to celebrate a 30-year strategic partnership between the two institutions. It was during her student activism days where her interest in student food security was stimulated, which inspired her Master’s research investigating food security at the UWC, and focusing on actions and programmes to address student hunger at the UWC.  Her masters project investigated the perception of student hunger and the level of involvement of university academic staff and students in programmes / actions / interventions that address food insecurity / hunger and identified the challenges the food security programmes at UWC experience.

How is it impacting your community?

The academic and leadership foundation from the UWC became a launching pad to becoming a research leader in her own right with interests on food production systems in South Africa. Nolukholo has done research in the policy domain ranging from social protection, the rural household economy, the impact of Covid-19 on agriculture to informal trade, food and nutrition security. This area of research is important to her because it highlights and documents the scourge of poverty, hunger and ensuring sustainability.

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

These are the core pillars of Agenda 2030 of the sustainable development goals and the National Development Plan. Her work contributes profoundly to the body of knowledge and informs policies that change people’s lives and ensure a sustainable future.  Nolukholo plans to do her PhD studies at the UWC where she will be researching food security in rural households.

“Her vision is to become a research leader and to produce knowledge that contributes change to society because for her research is service to communities.”

MUNASHE MASHABATU

AGRICULTURE

My name is Munashe Mashabatu, a versatile MSc graduate (Summa Cum Laude) and a current PhD student in Environmental and Water Science

I am a 28-year-old Zimbabwean with a commitment to earth science, atmospheric physics, and model

What is/was your work about?

Accurate crop water requirements assist farmers with saving water, and increases their productivity, and the management of their irrigation water. Upon graduating with my MSc, I registered for my PhD to work on determining water requirements of fullbearing and high-yielding Japanese plum orchards in two major production regions of the Western Cape, using an eddy covariance flux system. The eddy covariance flux system is the most suitable and direct method to estimate crop water requirements. The general aim of both studies is to investigate and quantify the consumptive water use rates of fruit tree species in such a way that fruit growers will know the volume of water (1) being consumed by the plants, (2) being lost through various processes, and therefore (3) required to be supplemented by irrigation methods. This study is critically important, considering the rising water scarcity situation that South Africa is currently facing. Precise quantification of the water requirements of fruit trees informs water

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

Determining crop water requirements of irrigated fruit species addresses SDG 12, particularly Targets 12.2 and 12.2A. The research covers efficiency in the use and management of natural resources and the support of developing countries’ scientific and technological capacity for sustainable consumption and production. Tools and technologies that allow farmers to minimise nonbeneficial water use while maximising production and yield using limited available water resources have been developed.  South Africa, which is a major exporter of various types of fruits, is

considered to be one of the driest countries in the world. Therefore, the availability of adequate water is critically important for the sustainability and growth of the fruit industry. Information on specific fruit tree water requirements obtained from my research contributes to improving water allocation, irrigation water management, and water productivity. Thus, it maintains South Africa’s global competitiveness concerning the production and export of fruit.

How is it impacting your community?

Findings from these studies were distributed to local farmers and water managers for use in improving their management of the available water resources. Fruit growers can now adhere to best practices in water management to drive other water productivity initiatives. Sustainable management of water resources is aiding in the attainment of sustainable development solutions towards the rising water scarcity levels, increasing frequency of drought in the Western Cape and the rising competition for the limited water resources between different sectors of the economy.

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My research overview stems from my MSc study, which focused on determining the crop coefficients of various irrigated fruit trees that are grown in orchards across South Africa.”

SHEHAAM MOOSA

energy, food systems transformation, changemaking and social, climate and food justice.

What is your work about?

Shehaam Moosa is a Masters student at the Institute for Social Development. She is affiliated to the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security and the Social Innovation & Development Niche Area, within the Office of the DVC: Research & Innovation. She is a graduate of the University of Cape Town holding a Bachelor of Social Science, as well as a Bachelor of Development Studies Honours from the University of the Western Cape. Her research explores the influence of social innovation in addressing food (in)security in the context of an epidemic natural disaster – i.e., the recent Day Zero drought in Cape Town and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her dissertation examines how the COVID-19 and water crises adversely, albeit uniquely impacted on the availability, accessibility, utilisation, quality and safety of food, as well as the stability of food supply and analyses social innovations and community responses implemented to relieve food scarcity and insecurity. Shehaam’s interests include: specialty coffee, nature, art, comedy, mindfulness, selfmastery, sustainable development, clean/green

The conventional top-down approach to disaster management is often rendered unsustainable –failing to encourage community resilience and promote structural change. In South Africa, recent years have seen the emergence of bottom-up practices and various forms of social innovation, where diverse stakeholders and role players collaborate. However, despite success stories, local communities remain plagued by poverty and food insecurity. These social inequalities are deepened and exacerbated during times of crisis. My Master’s thesis is a threefold study intersecting food (in) security, social innovation and natural disaster. The study analyses the influence of social innovation and creative solutions to social and environmental problems in the context of an epidemic natural disaster. It explores measures of social innovation that have emerged to address the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent Cape Town drought on food security. The study presents social innovations that were implemented during the COVID-19 crisis – Community Action Networks, FoodFlow, Food Dialogues 2020, Food Relief Forum, CoCare Voucher Scheme, etc. Likewise, it presents social innovations that were implemented during the Day Zero crisis – Dropula, Aquatrap, Drop Drop, Hydroponics, the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, etc. Significant findings suggest that social innovation, whether technical, technological, digital or otherwise, offer many potential benefits in promoting food security, efficient food chains, inclusive economies, social cohesion and sustainability. However, while social innovation can intimately address food (in) security during peace and war time, it needs to be coupled with other systematic interventions. The study concludes that government needs to work in tandem with business and civil society to create a future by design, not by default, where the most vulnerable populations have physical and economic access to sufficient, high quality lean proteins, whole

grain starches, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats promoting good health and wellbeing, and allowing greater sustainability and agency in the food system.

How does your work contribute to the SDGs?

My study emphasises the need to use a food systems lens when considering food security strategies, as it recognises the interconnectedness of food systems with other social systems and appreciates the complex interaction of all the SDGs. For instance, progress on SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) has a direct bearing on the progress on SDG 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), SDG 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation) is essential for food production and good nutrition, and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption & Production) is critical to achieve food security sustainably. The food system should not be isolated and separated from other systems, such as transport, energy, housing, informality, etc. Food system vulnerability is compounded by many tensions within these interconnected social systems. The systems interact, reinforce and even amplify susceptibility to food insecurity. All in all, my work contributes to the global goals in a sense that the study intersects SDG 2, SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities) and SDG 13 (Climate Action) in its exploration of potential sustainable solutions, which are socially, economically and environmentally

sound and could be taken forward beyond times of crisis. Through the research endeavour, I understand that the worst of COVID-19 and drought must be relegated to memory, but that much can be achieved with creativity, curiosity, collaboration and solidarity of purpose.

How is it impacting your community?

Essentially, my Master’s study lays the foundation for a prospective and hopeful PhD study, which could take the research much further. It could investigate the complexities of the growing changemaking landscape, focusing on emerging economies and marginal communities. At doctoral level I could advocate the building of food sovereignty pathways, meaning that at localised levels community members could control how food is produced and distributed. I could engage in how food security/local food pathways and social innovation/design thinking can be integrated into development planning at the local government level. This would not only contribute to the academy and research community, but spotlight underserved communities and neglected populations. My Master’s project has put me in good stead to consider employment opportunities in the public sector at city and provincial level, as well as in the social sector and the nonprofit world.

“Whatever my path and wherever I work, social, climate and food justice will be at the heart of everything I do ”

LOVENESS MSOFI

was that those with better technical support will competitively engage in market-based agriculture and their livelihoods will improve. But with the understanding that the playing field is not level, that some have more advantages than others, I also wanted to understand these social differences amongst social groups and gender categories. This is important to contribute to the literature on the dominant narrative about the role of agricultural extension, which should be understood as not being straightforward and that it is dependent on other factors. Again, the research contributes to the political and feminist economy literature on the social differences that exist as people pursue various economic and livelihood activities.

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals?

Loveness Msofi, a lecturer and a researcher in Extension and Rural development in the Department of Extension at Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Bunda college campus. She is in the final stages of her PhD research at the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, University of the Western Cape.

Her PhD title is: Agricultural extension and commercialisation in rural Malawi: Implications for livelihoods, class and gender differentiation.

What is/was your work about?

I come from a social sciences background and my interest is to investigate how social issues affect farmers to be able to contribute to household and national food security. Amongst the several social issues I have a keen interest in the dynamics of gender and class. My Master’s thesis analysed the competitive advantage that men and women have in farming in general, be it for food or for sale, in which I concluded that women are as competitive as men considering different factors. My PhD focuses on understanding the role of agricultural extension (agricultural technical advice) in market-based farming and consequently how these agricultural economic activities are contributing to livelihoods but also to social differentiation. The assumption

My work cuts across a number of the SDGs in particular SDG 1, 2 and 5. My work examines who benefits economically amongst different social groups and why, the status of their livelihoods and food security situation, and how their economic and livelihood activities impact on social differentiation in terms of gender and class. In SDG 1 (No poverty), my work focuses on how people of different social statuses pursue their economic activities, what benefits they get and who in particular benefits. This is important to understand inclusivity of development activities but also to inform policy on the role different initiatives, including agricultural extension, play towards this SDG. On SDG 2 (Zero hunger), my work investigates how different social groups pursue their livelihood activities and the impact these have on food security. This is important to inform policy and dominant narrative on the implications of marketbased farming on food security and on livelihoods in general. On SDG 5 (Gender equality), my work researches the impacts of market-based agriculture on gender differentiation, which is important from a feminist political perspective to understand who benefits amongst men and women and why.

How is it impacting your community?

During data collection, I employed participatory data collection tools, thus wealth ranking, social mapping and trend analysis. Participants were amazed to consider their wealth status both individually and as a community. They told me to return after five

years to do the ranking again and see the changes they will have made. My research will not only be revealing to the community but will also inform policymakers on the development initiatives that can be implemented in the community to benefit them economically and in terms of their livelihoods. Furthermore, my research sheds light on the class and gender differences that exist and that impact on people’s livelihoods but also on how the development initiatives contribute or perpetuate these differences contrary to the dominant development narratives.

“I come from a social sciences background and my interest is to investigate how social issues affect farmers to be able to contribute to household and national food security. ”

NAZEEIA SAYED

FOOD SECURITY

Nazeeia Sayed is a South African registered dietitian with over 25 years of experience in various sectors (university teaching, research, corporate R&D, and nutrition consulting). She obtained her PhD in 2020.

What is/was your work about?

I am in my third year of work at the UWC. I joined as a postdoctoral fellow, and am now in a contract research role at the School of Public Health, and affiliated with the DSI-NRF Centre of

Excellence in Food Security. I have learnt so much in my time at the UWC, and I have enjoyed the research in which I was given the opportunity to participate. My first project as a postdoc examined breastfeeding practices in the Maternal and Child Health Survey data that was collected in 2020, during the peak of COVID-19 in South Africa. We found that hungry mothers were less likely to breastfeed. This paper has been published, and we hope it draws attention to the neglected aspect of trying to improve infant nutrition: that support for breastfeeding cannot be separate from maternal support.

The bulk of my time at UWC has been as a project manager and researcher for the National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS2022).  Data collection for this survey concluded in September last year, and analysis and report writing are currently underway. The NFCS2022 was a collaborative national project with other research and higher education institutes in South Africa. I also led a project last year on drivers of food choices in South Africa, with nine focus groups conducted across three provinces.  This year, I have been learning to use Altas.ti to analyse my qualitative data.

How has your work contributed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

The focus on nutrition in my research links with the SDGs on zero hunger and good health and wellbeing. Last year I was selected to visit Umeå University in Sweden. Since then, I’ve led a workshop entitled “Nourishing South Africans Sustainably”, where we explored how the environmental impact of South African diets can be assessed. This work is closely related to the SDGs on responsible consumption and production, as well as sustainable cities and communities. Working on a project with international partners and across disciplines allowed us to access new ideas and bring in different skills to design our research project. We applied for a virtual grant and hope to take our work further this year.

How is it impacting your community?

Any research done must be based on the needs of society, but the benefit of research to society may not be evident immediately. I became involved in nutrition and research because I wanted to help to

make the world a better place, in some small way. The evidence we generate through research helps with advocacy to inform policy and action in order to improve food access and nutrition security for all South African citizens.

“I love it that the work I do always requires that I must learn and master new skills.”

PRUDENCE UMULISA

AGRICULTURE

My name is Prudence Umulisa. I completed my Masters in Development Studies.

I am a hardworking student with critical thinking and extraordinary problem-solving skills. My questions and contributions in class were always logical, rational and analytical. I have demonstrated great leadership skills and I always handed my work in on time. My personality: I am well liked by fellow students, and I exhibit a remarkable degree of maturity and trustworthiness as well as high levels of diligence and reliability. My work was about “THE IMPACT OF THE AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATION POLICY ON FOOD SECURITY: Case study of Selected Smallholder Farmers in Gicumbi District, Northern Province, Rwanda.

The contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The Rwanda government needs to implement the target of vision 2020 in order to achieve Sustainable Development Goals No. 2 (SDGs), which will be replaced by Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in reducing poverty with zero hunger. The establishment of vision 2020 took place in 2000 and its targets have to be achieved before the end of 2020 (FAO, 2016). Under the vision 2020 the Government of Rwanda plans to become the middle-income economy of the country (with a minimum income per capita of 900 USD), reducing poverty and to improve the life expectancy rate.

The impact on my community?

Rural agricultural activities are linked to the availability of livelihood assets. The practice of these activities develops the livelihood asset base of a farming household. Engaging in rural agriculture is directly connected to having natural capital, including land.

The findings of this research show that the relationships and networks amongst agronomists, farmers, and associations in the Gicumbi District, facilitated the acquisition of new information and knowledge of how to cook healthy foods, how to improve agricultural production and how to deal with the diseases and pests, which affect their crops.  This shows that it is very important to have social capital in the quest to be a good rural farmer. The availability of this capital is vitally important to the engagement in these activities. Social capital is also

wired by trust, as seen from the example in the Ukraine, where the local government trusts the farmers and provides them with loans, inputs, and trading opportunities (Wolz et al., 2010). The same applies in the Gicumbi District, where the government supplies the household farmers with inputs and fertilizer by providing credit through the NKUNGANIRE system. They are given the opportunity to buy goods at low

“

This shows that it is very important to have social capital in the quest to be a good rural farmer.”

CONCLUSION

WHAT IS UWC DOING TO DEVELOP SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE AS A NICHE AREA FOR UWC AND WHAT WOULD THIS MEAN FOR US?

PROF MARSHALL KEYSTER

Prof Marshall Keyster the current HOD in the Department of Biotechnology at UWC has been actively researching in the area of Plant Science. His expertise is recognised as an associate editor for the journal Plant Molecular Biology Reporter and reviewer for several other plant science journals.

Marshall conducts research in the Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS) at the UWC and his research aim is to understand how soil contaminants, mostly heavy metals, specific to South Africa (mostly produced by mining) impacts on important food and animal feed crops. Specific aims would be the deciphering of molecular pathways involved in plant responses to heavy metal stress, especially the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-antioxidant enzyme system which is an important mechanism for coping under heavy metal stress. Other goals would be the identification of novel growth promoting bacteria and fungi that can be applied to crops (plant roots) in order to assist these crops during heavy metal stress and other soil contaminants, and identifying proteins and molecules involved in metal binding in order to change these metals into less toxic forms. Identifying various lipid signalling molecules which increase plant tolerance to heavy metal stress and deciphering the pathways by which these lipid signalling molecules play a role in mitigating the effects of heavy metals on plants is also an important part of this research. Because heavy metals are also a human health risk Marshall has expanded his research into the “One health” theme and one of his long-term goals is to

develop an environmental biotechnology teaching module that would encompass microorganisms, animals, plants and humans, which he will link to sustainable agriculture for improved food safety and security.

As we drive Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security at UWC, the university has invested in growing a cohort of researchers in the field of sustainable agriculture through supporting Masters and PhD students. As the cohort of researchers grow, the university will develop academic programmes that support this developing niche area.

In conclusion, only a multiplex approach, which involves utilising multiple strategies to address food security, has the potential to be an effective solution to eradicate poverty (SDG1) and reduce hunger (SDG2) in South Africa. Food security is a complex issue that is influenced by various factors, such as climate change, economic inequality, and political instability. Therefore, a multifaceted approach is likely to be more successful than a single solution. Some possible components of a multiplex approach to build a resilient food system include: (1) Increasing agricultural productivity and promoting sustainable farming practices to improve food production and reduce waste. (2) Providing financial assistance and technical support to small-scale farmers to help them increase their yields and access markets. (3) Improving food distribution systems to ensure that food reaches those who need it most, particularly in areas with poor infrastructure. (3) Addressing economic inequality and improving access to education and healthcare, which can help to reduce malnutrition and improve overall health. (4) Developing stress-resistant crops and other climate-smart agriculture practices to adapt to the effects of climate change on food production. Therefore, by combining these and other strategies, a multiplex approach has the potential to significantly improve food security, particularly in regions that are most vulnerable to food insecurity. However, it will require sustained efforts and investment from governments, NGOs, and other stakeholders to be successful.

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