Food Basket - April 2021

FOOD BASKET APRIL 2021

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ADDRESSING HUNGER AND WASTE INSIDE: THE FOOD CHAIN | SUPPORTING NEW FARMERS

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EDI T ORI A L COMMEN T

FOOD WASTE IN THE SPOTLIGHT

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n this issue of Food Basket, we tackle the senseless reality that as much as a third of food produced worldwide goes to waste across the supply chain. A third of all edible food in South Africa is never consumed and ends up in landfill, adding pressure to an already overextended waste system. Meanwhile, millions don’t have enough to eat. Turn to page 10 to read more about the crisis we face and the complexities surrounding food waste and our resultant struggles with food insecurity.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (page 19), South Africa will have to double its food production by 2050 just to be able to support the needs of its population.

Is this realistic given the many variables at play? No one can answer that definitively, but what all our experts advise is that collective responsibility is needed.

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Contents

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MANAGEMENT Management Accountant: Deidre Musha Business Manager: Lodewyk van der Walt General Manager Magazines: Jocelyne Bayer

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SOLUTIONS TO REDUCE FOOD WASTE

Addressing the dual problems of global hunger and global warming

10​ FOOD SECURITY COPYRIGHT: Picasso Headline. No portion of this

magazine may be reproduced in any form without written consent of the publisher. The publisher is not responsible for unsolicited material. Food Basket is published by Picasso Headline. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of Picasso Headline. All advertisements/advertorials and promotions have been paid for and therefore do not carry any endorsement by the publisher.

South Africa has food, but we must overcome its historical gaps

15 ​ INNOVATIONS TO

ADDRESS HUNGER

Corporates and NGOs are embracing partnerships and new technologies to feed the hungry

19 19​ THE FOOD CHAIN

Ensuring fair play between suppliers, retailers and, ultimately, the consumer

20​ AGRICULTURE

Mentorship and funding programmes are crucial for providing emerging farmers with a head start

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A RECIPE FOR BOOSTING FOOD SECURITY IN SOUTH AFRICA Take several strategic partnerships, a healthy serving of innovation and a measure of funding and combine. That’s how to boost food security, writes John Hudson, national head of agriculture at Nedbank

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hile we are food secure on a national level, household food security is a major challenge, with 26 per cent of South Africans routinely experiencing hunger. This phenomenon has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. So, what can we do to alleviate it?

SUSTAINABLE FARMING Climate change is now regarded as the top risk factor facing farmers, making farming far less predictable and more challenging than ever before. The focus then should be on sustainable, responsible production with the limited natural resources available.

To this end, Nedbank has created innovative and tailored funding solutions to support farmers with sustainable farming interventions.

With a holistic focus on energy, water and soil health, backed by our leadership position in renewable-energy finance, we are helping farmers and agribusinesses build resilient operations. Similarly, our shade-netting finance improves crop performance while saving water, and is an example of using our core business of lending to make a real impact.

SURPLUS FOOD DONATION IMAGE: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM

IMAGES: SUPPLIED

A DV ER T ORI A L

Tragically, a large proportion of wasted food is edible surplus food, and with 26 per cent of food wastage coming from farms, this

is where much of the opportunity lies. But, understandably, farmers do not have the time or resources to undertake surplus food redistribution themselves, particularly when they are in harvest season.

Enter FoodForward SA (FFSA), the largest surplus food organisation in SA, and its Second Harvest programme. Using dedicated refrigerated vehicles that go directly to farms to collect fresh fruit and vegetables while farmers are harvesting, the programme makes it very convenient to donate at no cost or disruption to farmers.

In 2020, Nedbank Agriculture donated R1-million to FFSA to develop this programme further and helped facilitate new partnerships between FFSA, Agri SA and the Citrus Growers Association of SA. This has connected FFSA directly with 28 000 farmers and 1 000 farmer associations. With over 1 000 tonnes of Second Harvest produce being distributed since March 2020, the Second Harvest programme is taking hold, but there are always more mouths to feed and we urge all food producers to consider joining the programme to donate surplus food.

The recovery of food waste is one of the most effective ways of combatting greenhouse gases, with each tonne of food recovered saving four tonnes of CO2. The WWF Nedbank Green Trust has recently provided R6-million in funding to FoodForward SA over three years, with the specific purpose of enhancing food recovery and

Nedbank has created innovative and tailored funding solutions to support farmers with sustainable farming interventions.

food redistribution, while tackling the issue of food waste in our food value chains.

STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS Nedbank, whose business values are entrenched in sustainability, takes pride in being involved with clients and partners that focus on sustainable agricultural and water projects, such as its R25-million partnership with WWF-SA, which focuses on water source area conservation. Key priorities include the protection of SA’s essential water source areas while creating opportunities for and supporting communities that rely on these areas for their livelihoods. The intention is to gather learning of and insights to an effective water-source partnership model to be replicated nationally and bolster the resilience and independence of commercial and small-scale farmers alike.

Nedbank has also joined forces with both the Greenpop Foundation and The Bee Effect through Boland Trees for Bees’ founding partner, Boland Cellar. This indigenous tree-planting initiative aims to restore ecosystems and degraded forest areas through reforestation, urban greening and sustainable development.

For information about FFSA’s Second Harvest programme, please visit: www.foodforwardsa.org or email Agriculture@ Nedbank.co.za

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A DV ER T ORI A L

MANAGING FOOD WASTE IS EVERYONE’S RESPONSIBILITY As the numbers of hungry people increase, so does concern over the amount of food that is discarded. Greater focus and effort is called for to reduce and manage such wastage

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hroughout history, humans have overcome hunger and disease not only by harvesting food from cultivated land, but also by processing it with sophisticated methods.

Our food system has evolved over centuries into a global system of immense size and complexity.

Food science and technology professionals oversee today’s complex food production systems, ensuring that food is safe, tasty, nutritious, abundant, diverse, convenient, and more readily accessible than ever before. This vast food system includes agricultural production and harvesting, holding and storage of raw materials, food manufacturing (formulation, food processing, and packaging), transportation and distribution, retailing, food service, and food preparation in the home.

A third of all food is wasted globally, including in South Africa, presenting a challenge that requires a joint effort from everyone in society. There is

growing concern over the significant share of food that is thrown away, while at the same time many are going hungry.

Reducing food waste is a key challenge for the food industry. Food scientists conduct extensive research to uncover innovative practices that can help mitigate global food wastage. Food scientists and technologists manage food packaging and storage, which plays a significant role in reducing food waste and loss. They also determine the “Best by”, “Sell by”, “Use by” dates that are primarily consumer advisory.

Managing food waste is a joint effort where everyone can contribute.

A third of all food is wasted globally, including in South Africa, presenting a challenge that requires a joint effort from everyone in society.

ABOUT SACNASP AND SAAFoST The South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP) is the regulatory council for natural science.

All natural scientists have to register to practise in their various fields in SA. They are bound by a code of conduct that underpins ethical practice by natural scientists. The South African Association for Food Science and Technology (SAAFoST), a voluntary association of SACNASP, fosters collaboration between food scientists/technologists and provides a platform for professionals to share research developments and new trends that can assist in mitigating food wastage.

For more information:

012 748 6500 sacnasp@sacnasp.org.za www.sacnasp.org.za

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F OOD WA S T E

ALL IT TAKES IS THE RIGHT ACTION Food travels a complex supply chain. The required reduction in waste to address global hunger and global warming requires all stakeholders to become engaged, writes GARETH GRIFFITHS

IMAGES: ISTOCKPHOTO.COM, THE WWF, SUPPLIED

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n the book, Drawdown, The Most Comprehensive Plan Proposed Ever to Reverse Global Warming, edited by well-known author Paul Hawken, it says that food going to waste, together with the growing deforestation to produce additional farmland, is the third-largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and offers massive potential for regeneration.

Taking the right action to control food waste can result in a reduction of 70.53 gigatonnes of carbon emissions in the atmosphere. The conundrum is that, while approximately one-third of the global Innocentia workforce is engaged in the Modau production of food to feed the planet, one-third of this food is wasted; yet 800 million people worldwide live in perpetual hunger. The equation does not balance and the result creates two interconnected problems. Food is not getting to the people who really need it, and the planet is heating up as a result of the surplus of food that is being discarded in some places.

Astonishingly, in the South Africa context, it has been estimated that 44 per cent of all fruit and vegetable food is lost before it even

reaches the retail outlet, according to World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and in the fishing sector, up to 27 per cent of a catch is lost between landing and consumption.

This contrasts with the observation that 43.6 per cent of South African children are deficient in Vitamin A, an imbalance that could be corrected by the consumption of vegetables and fish. Ten per cent of South African children suffer from iron deficiency anaemia, which again could be addressed by an appropriate diet.

Significantly, food waste is becoming a more important item on the government’s agenda – the South African government is a signatory to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, of which Target 12.3 sets a target to reduce food waste by 50 per cent by 2030.

Innocentia Modau, research and project co-ordinator: Food Waste and Sustainable Diets at the World Wide Fund for Nature says the organisation believes that a regenerative food system depends on resilient levels of production.

“Until recently, we focused on the impacts of agricultural production – by far the most

significant environmental impacts. However, focusing on farms only will not bring about the changes that are needed for a resilient and secure food system. We need a socioecological approach where we embed social, economic and political dimensions within the natural ecology. We also need to study this complex situation to ensure we do not create any unintended consequences in our approach.

“The World Wide Fund for Nature focuses on five practical areas for food system transformation: inclusive regenerative farming, optimal water use, responsible sourcing, reducing food waste, and dietary shift. This transition must alleviate poverty and reduce inequalities by focusing on those most affected by the nutritional deficit, namely women and children in low-income communities.

“Farmers, fresh produce markets, food manufacturers and food retailers routinely produce surplus foods. Much of this ends up as waste,” she explains. “If diverted at the right time, a sizeable share of this food can be redirected for human consumption.

“Redirecting surplus food will also avoid the loss of significant amounts of energy, water and financial capital embedded in wasted food, and the greenhouse gases resulting from its decomposition at landfills,” says Modau.

She says that the WWF is starting a project with FoodForward SA that aims to access surplus food generated on farms for redistribution, reducing food insecurity (hunger) while also building a long-term approach to reducing food waste (the environment). This will be done through increased farmer participation in the Second Harvest programme.

Since lockdown there is a greater openness to discuss the use of surplus food as a means to address food security. Many corporates are now directing a higher percentage of their CSI/ CSR spend to food security issues.

South African stats

in the value chain ? whEre does waste occur?

50% 25% 20% 5%

“Farmers, fresh produce markets, food manufacturers and food retailers routinely produce surplus foods. Much of this ends up as waste.” – Innocentia Modau,

Agricultural/postharvest stage (33% cost) Processing and packaging

Distribution and retail

Consumer level

but reducing food waste at the later stages of the supply chain can save three times the energy of cutting waste POSTHARVEST

research and project co-ordinator: Food Waste and Sustainable Diets, the World Wide Fund for Nature

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A farm worker at the Siphikelekhona Cooperative in KwaZulu-Natal, where the Southern Africa Food Lab is working to reconnect and recalibrate local food systems.

DID YOU KNOW?

FOOD SAFETY AND FOOD SECURITY:

A TALE OF TWO SYSTEMS South Africa has food, but we must overcome its historical gaps, writes JAMES FRANCIS

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outh Africa’s inequality makes it a paradoxical place. According to Oxfam, technical famine is “a situation where one in five households experience an extreme lack of food and other basic needs where starvation, death, and destitution are evident”.

South Africa doesn’t quite qualify, yet around 11 per cent of its people go hungry every day, according to StatsSA, while Global Citizen reports that malnutrition stunts 27 per cent of children under-5.

A DIVIDED FOOD SECTOR This disparity is historical, says Rirhandzu Marivate, project manager of the Sustainability Institute’s Learning Farm project. “South Africa’s food system was set up by the colonial settlers; it was exclusionary to the native Africans and later continued by the apartheid government.

The food system was designed to serve and be accessed by the minority population, while poorly paid black labourers were only able to access a very small portion of the food supply and were further conditioned to depend on refined staples and poor diets.”

Though this image has changed somewhat since 1994, Marivate notes that the loosening of regulations also enabled a few large players to consolidate their position and “promote large-scale industrial monoculture, instead of creating a more equitable and accessible food system”.

Kenneth Carden, programme head for supporting smallholder agriculture at the Southern Africa Food Lab, agrees, noting that there is a formal entrenched commercial sector and a struggling, previously disadvantaged, smallholder agricultural sector, which “manifests in a highly developed commercial food system

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dominated by a few powerful players that supply readily available food into the more affluent consumer base, and a less-developed largely informal food system that a high percentage of consumers depend on.”

NO FOOD CONSPIRACY To be clear, this is not due to a food cabal, but rather the symptom of long-standing segregation in the food market. And the large players are not plotting to keep small producers down.

For example, Woolworths is a big supporter of feeding schemes, food reclamation, and teaching sustainable agriculture skills to smallholding farmers, through its support of the Learning Farm project and its Farming for the Future project.

“At farm level, Farming for the Future aims to increase the quality of the food produced, reduce food waste, and build resilience against climate change while improving the ecosystem,” says Woolworths spokesperson Silindile Gumede.

Retailers appear to play a growing role in establishing the best standards and practices among smallholder farms. This includes food safety – Woolworths employs teams that enforce food safety protocols and do regular testing to ensure their compliance. It also helps to develop subsistence farmers to become part of its supplier programme.

Though welcome, such activities aren’t altruistic. They need to happen if we hope to address food inequality, says Marivate. “Big corporates or businesses hold the power at the different points in the food value chain, and they can use that power to ensure that smaller businesses that are underrepresented, including the informal sector, are given access and allowed to participate.”

SAFETY AND SECURITY FOR EVERYONE The food sector is also under pressure from customers and modern technology enablement, says Japie van der Westhuizen, GM of SA Stud Book & The Animal Improvement Association:

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) an average of 210kg of food is wasted, per person, each year in South Africa. Of this, 44 per cent of waste comprises fruit and vegetables, with a majority wasted before reaching the supermarket shelves.

The agricultural industry is a major contributing factor to food wastage in the value chain.

According to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, food waste costs South Africa R61.5-billion (2.1 per cent of GDP).

“It is mainly from the end consumer, but also animal welfare groups, groups insisting on environmental sustainability and even religionbased beliefs. The openness of databases, the rapid growth in accessibility to information and maybe even the influence of social media all contribute to this. The integration of production chains and the need for every link in this chain are also contributing.”

Another reason for the gap is compliance with local and global safety standards. These pressures can marginalise the informal food sector where demand for food availability overrides other sentiments. Since retailers turn the screws on behalf of food safety regulations, informal providers must become familiar with best practices, says Carden.

“Such food safety standards are generally not in place in the less formal food system. In recent work undertaken among groups of small-scale farmers who generally supply into the less formal system, we have found varying degrees of food safety knowledge and discovered that there are big issues with disease management and the use of pesticides.”

There are successes – Carden cites the SPAR Rural Hub programme, which has helped several small-scale farmers achieve GlobalG.A.P (good agricultural practice) compliance. But much more can be done. To this end, Marivate says the State can influence matters considerably. “Government has the ability and biggest responsibility to change laws and policies that enable fairer, inclusive, diverse and resilient food systems by creating legislation that protects the right to food and gives greater power to people and businesses that have little influence over how the food system works.”

Rirhandzu Marivate

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F OOD SECURI T Y Breadline Africa’s emergency feeding programme provides 20 000 meals per week to impoverished communities.

HELPING KIDS STAY ABOVE THE BREADLINE

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IMAGES: SUPPLIED

he COVID-19 pandemic has heavily impacted South Africa’s most impoverished communities. Since March 2020, nongovernmental organisation (NGO) Breadline Africa has helped to provide 1.7 million meals across 85 communities. It currently supports 12 feeding sites, catering 20 000 meals a week, with its primary focus on young children.

Founded in 1993, Breadline Africa, is not primarily a food provider. It focuses on dispersing grants and developing infrastructure around South Africa. If an underserved early childhood development (ECD) centre or primary school needs a classroom, restroom, kitchen or similar facilities, Breadline and its partners work to deliver a container fitted for that purpose. Instead of long-term projects, it chases more real-time results.

“I’ve worked for other NGOs that do long-term projects,” says Breadline Africa’s director Marion Wagner. “These are great projects, but they take years to finish. But if an informal structure is falling down and it’s unsafe for children trying Marion Wagner to learn to be in it, we can replace it relatively quickly with a container that would otherwise have been left to rust.”

Breadline Africa is no stranger to feeding schemes, deploying its first container kitchen in 1995. To date, it has launched 113 kitchens, and its partners help to register preschools so

When South Africa grew hungrier, Breadline Africa turned its scope towards food, writes JAMES FRANCIS that they can access government funding, such as Department of Social Development child subsidies.

But the lockdowns meant many ECD facilities were closed. Realising that this would have a terrible effect on children’s development, Breadline Africa reached out to its partners and those with kitchens, asking if they need help in providing meals?

The NGO could focus its organisation, fundraising and logistics capacities towards the immediate need for food.

This helped Breadline and its partners deliver 71 000kgs of food to the needy in the first five months of lockdown.

Breadline Africa has stringent evaluation criteria when it comes to placing infrastructure. ECD projects must have educational outcomes and not be run for pure profit. Some have become real entrepreneurs by combining an ECD centre with a laundromat with access to a toy library. Feeding kitchens at schools replaced community feeding kitchens, which often run out of funding, and can connect to national feeding schemes.

“We deliver dry ingredients and fresh vegetables and the community organisations cook and distribute the meals. We vet them and ensure that they are capable of monitoring and reporting and tracking.” – Marion Wagner,

Since the start of lockdown, Breadline Africa has provided over 1,7 million meals to people in need.

“We deliver dry ingredients and fresh vegetables and the community organisations cook and distribute the meals. We vet them and ensure that they are capable of monitoring and reporting and tracking.”

Breadline Africa doesn’t style itself as a food NGO. It’s more of a fixer, working behind the scenes with different partners to meet educational infrastructure needs in impoverished communities. When the pandemic crunch came, it could use that capability to fill an astounding number of stomachs. This underscores that in transforming South Africa, separately, we are willing but limited, yet together, we can realise a better country.

THE FEEDING-SAFETY NEXUS The South African Government’s National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP) brings meals to schoolchildren in primary and secondary schools.

The spike in hungry people due to the pandemic lockdowns was partly because they couldn’t access this programme – a vital lifeline. The NSNP makes it a priority to buy fresh produce from smallholder farms, yet its patronage is also subject to meeting food production safety standards.

Thus, only farmers who can meet the criteria can gain access to a large customer and support a highly valuable service to South Africans.

The work of groups such as the Sustainability Institute and Southern Africa Food Lab aims to connect these dots and introduce informal and small-scale farmers into the commercial food economy.

director, Breadline Africa

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INNOVAT ION

PARTNERING FOR NEW SOLUTIONS

TO AN OLD-AGE PROBLEM She says FoodForward SA’s infrastructure and footprint has enabled it to distribute more than 6 500 tonnes of food (equating to 26 million meals) to 475 000 beneficiaries since the start of lockdown last year. This is made possible through a network of around 1 000 registered beneficiary organisations that have the relationships and know-how to ensure that the most vulnerable are reached.”

Corporates and nongovernmental organisations are embracing partnerships and new technologies to feed the hungry.

By ANTHONY SHARPE

DID YOU KNOW? The Centre of Excellence in Food Security and the University of Pretoria are working with European partners on an initiative called InnoFoodAfrica, which aims to address bottlenecks in African food supply chains including limited access to urban and international markets, low productivity and affordability.

MAKING AMAZING MAIZE FoodForward SA has distributed more than 6 500 tonnes of food during lockdown.

PUTTING YOUR BEST FOOD FORWARD Dos Santos says Investec recognised the needs within their communities and worked with government and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) to implement solutions.

“Localised work, at a community level, is most effective. Our partnerships are built on long-term relationships. We know these partners well – we seldom just donate and leave.”

Investec partnered with FoodForward SA, which recovers surplus food from the supply chain and distributes it to those in need, explains Dos Santos. “We chose FoodForward SA for several reasons, but largely because of the depth and scale of the organisation, which can reach many of the communities in the regions where our offices are located.”

GIVING BACK THROUGH LOYALTY PROGRAMMES Discovery has partnered with Woolworths and Gift of the Givers, enabling members to donate Discovery Miles with Vitality MoveToGive to provide food and toiletries for those in need. Makro’s mRewards programme allows customers to donate food through Gift of the Givers and the Izzi Trust, a holiday feeding scheme for learners. Also supporting hungry children is the Lunchbox Fund, to which Checkers and Shoprite Xtra Savings members can donate. Pick n Pay Smart Shopper members can donate at the till to Feed the Nation, a feeding scheme for children, the elderly, homeless people and the disabled.

Sources: InnoFoodAfrica

Distributing healthy food is crucial: an issue being addressed by the Department of Science and Innovation – National Research Foundation’s Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS).

“People tend to eat what is available and affordable,” says Professor Naushad Emmambux of the University of Pretoria, who works with the CoE-FS. “If you look at Professor cheap food, it’s mostly Naushad energy-dense foods.

Emmambux And people who work all day and don’t have time to prepare healthy meals will also likely go with fast food, characterised by high levels of carbohydrates, sugar and fat.”

Emmambux and others are working on innovations in manufacturing healthy, nutrient-dense food – what he calls SMART (safe, marketable, affordable, ready-toeat, tasty) food. One such project involves making the starch in maize more resistant to digestion, thus lowering the glycaemic index. Another involves developing complementary foods such as sweet potato porridge for babies, for whom maize meal is not ideal. “If something like maize meal is readily available and affordable, people will buy for the whole family. They won’t think to buy another food for the baby,” says Emmambux. “So we need to explain that it’s not advisable to give maize meal to babies 6–24 months old as complementary food.”

The technologies being developed should be adopted by SMEs, Emmambux says. “With these technologies, we need to ensure it is financially feasible to make products at a small- or medium-scale, which can then be affordable.”

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lthough access to food in South Africa has improved gradually through the past two decades, according to StatsSA’s General Household Survey 2018, 11.3 per cent of individuals and 9.7 per cent of households were vulnerable to hunger in 2018. And COVID-19 has only made the situation worse.

“At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, corporates immediately recognised that to address the looming public health crisis, they would need to step in and contribute beyond the realm of traditional Tanya Dos corporate social Santos investment,” says Tanya Dos Santos, global head of sustainability at Investec.

While this helped stem the tide, it was a double-edged sword, explains Dos Santos. “Corporates may have diverted money away from their planned programmes to support the short-term needs of the pandemic. Many charitable sponsorships were withdrawn and ad hoc public donations evaporated, putting several smaller charities under immense pressure to continue their good work.”

Source: South African Reserve Bank

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A DV ER T ORI A L

IMPROVING SOUTH AFRICA’S FOOD SECURITY

detection equipment can also identify foreign material and remove it from the product.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) defines a food safety culture as “shared values, beliefs and norms that affect mindset and behaviour towards food safety in, across and throughout an organisation”. As such, it is important to emphasise that all stakeholders are responsible for food safety; this must underpin the culture of any food company. Therefore, staff should be regularly trained and all parties in the supply chain need to ensure compliance.

This is why McCain conducts unannounced independent third-party inspections of facilities as well as audits of food safety and quality management systems.

When it comes to affordability and availability, we know that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated hunger and malnutrition in the country. With this in mind, it is crucial for the public and private sector to work together to minimise the plight of those suffering. One way to do this is by minimising food waste and establishing projects to deliver nutritious food to those that need it.

None of this would be possible without our thriving agricultural industry in South Africa. It is important to note, however, that planet-friendly farming practices are key to ensure that our biodiversity is protected and we can continue to grow and produce food for the country.

“IT IS CRUCIAL FOR THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR TO WORK TOGETHER TO MINIMISE THE PLIGHT OF THOSE SUFFERING. ONE WAY TO DO THIS IS BY MINIMISING FOOD WASTE AND ESTABLISHING PROJECTS TO DELIVER NUTRITIOUS FOOD TO THOSE THAT NEED IT.” – UNATHI MHLATYANA, MD, MCcAIN FOODS SOUTH AFRICA 18

It is, therefore, alarming that the index scores South Africa below 50% for natural resources and resilience. At McCain, we procure our products from over 100 farmers who plant over 4 500 hectares of potatoes annually. As such, we have made it our mission to improve our sustaintability practices; clear goals have been set, which need to be achieved by 2025.

However, like food safety, protecting our environment is everyone’s responsibility. This is why we work with our growers to implement sustainable regenerative agriculture practices as well as transferring technologies such as integrated pest management, decision support systems for disease management, soil management, seed cutters and storage practices.

If we are to improve our ranking in next year’s GFSI report, it is key for our industry to band together and further improve food safety and quality compliance, establish ways to end hunger in our country and commit to sustainable agriculture practices to ensure that we can provide for future generations.

For more information: 011 856 6000 www.mccain.co.za

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outh Africa ranked 69 out of 113 countries in the recently released 2020 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) report after being ranked two places higher last year. The country’s top score was 72.4% for food quality and safety, followed by affordability at 63.1%, availability at 49.5% and the lowest score at 49% for natural resources and resilience.

Positively, South Africa ranked number one out of the sub-Saharan countries when it came to the quality and safety of food. This is incredibly important to McCain with its food being harvested locally at its peak and then snap-frozen within hours to maintain freshness and lock in nutrients.

Although freezing is a safe way of preventing bacterial growth and enzyme activity, there are still challenges that need to be addressed in the industry to ensure the utmost food safety and quality. One hurdle is temperature abuse, which happens when there are breaks in the cold chain resulting in the product undergoing cycles of defrosting and refreezing, leading to quality deterioration and in extreme abuse, mouldy products.

To produce safe food products, robust food safety programmes that ensure compliance with physical, chemical and microbiological factors are vital. Along with this, it is essential to establish temperature abuse projects to understand, detect and mitigate the risks related to this. Optical sorting and defect

Unathi Mhlatyana, MD at McCain Foods South Africa, unpacks the results of the 2020 Global Food Security Index (GFSI) report

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F OOD CH A IN Hope Farming is a formal cooperative producing herbs, micro and baby greens and seedlings.

REINVENTING THE FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN Ensuring fair play for all along the food chain requires change and collaboration. By TREVOR CRIGHTON

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he latest National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile (NIDS-CRAM) survey and the 2020 South Africa Child Gauge, an annual publication of the Children’s Institute at the University of Cape Town, both demonstrate compelling evidence that the South African food system is not working.

Dr Scott Drimie, director of the Southern Africa Food Lab (SAFL), says that hunger is rife and food access is a daily struggle for more than 14 million South Africans. “The food choices facing households are shaped in powerful ways by their immediate food environment and the broader food system. This includes all the elements involved in taking food from the producer to the consumer,” he says.

Zinzi Mgolodela, director of corporate affairs at Zinzi Woolworths, says that Mgolodela shared value creation is essential throughout all processes and engagements around the supply chain to ensure fairness. “Our food supply chain strategy is, in part, informed by the consciousness of food insecurity in South Africa. Broadening access to food cuts across how our food is grown through our Farming for the Future programme to the nutritional content in food, waste management and, ultimately, how that positively impacts the price of the product,” she says.

“With short supply chains there are fewer opportunities for profiteering along the chain and farmers can shift closer to being price-makers, rather than price-takers.” – Dr Scott

Eight young farmers from the Sustainability Institute’s AgroEcology Academy have joined the Living Soils Community Learning Farm initiative.

population. “Assuming moderate demographic change, fairly rapid economic growth and effective technological development, the agricultural sector will be able to meet the growing food demand of a larger, even more urbanised and wealthier South African society in 2050,” says Drimie.

“Nevertheless, success is not guaranteed and will require comprehensive strategies for managing land and water use, research and investment to sustain yield growth, strategies for the production and distribution of adequate and high-nutrient food and addressing environmental concerns focused on the conservation of the productive land in South Africa.”

Drimie, director, Southern Africa Food Lab

Mgolodela adds that the increased expectation for value under economic pressures has seen the company collaborate across its supply chain to help customers. “For example, we have worked closely with our suppliers to invest in the price of our poultry products, making them available at a more accessible price,” she says.

SAFL aims to expose the power inequities in the food system and drive change. In terms of providing a fairer and smoother path from farmer to plate, Drimie says that an innovation – leading to better equality in the food system – is the development of shorter supply chains that connect farmers directly with consumers. “With short supply chains there are fewer opportunities for profiteering along the chain and farmers can shift closer to being price-makers, rather than price-takers,” he says.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), South Africa will have to double its food production by 2050 to support the needs of its

CHILD HUNGER IN SA The National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile survey shows that the proportion of respondents who reported experiencing hunger since the start of lockdown increased from 4.3 to 7.0 per cent, indicative of the risk of greater food insecurity in the country as a result of COVID-19.

Just under 30 per cent of households indicated that a child had gone hungry every day or almost every day in the past week in both wave 1 and 2 of reporting, while 24 per cent of households reported this in wave 3.

Before the pandemic, the National Schools Nutrition Programme (NSNP) played an important role in providing relief of child hunger. About 21 per cent of respondents indicated that children in their households were receiving school meals during July/August – for the first time since schools were closed in March – and this proportion increased to 45 per cent in November/December.

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GIVING FARMERS A HEAD START Mentorship and funding programmes are crucial for new farmers.

Tsholo Selolo and Joandra Cloete share their journey in poultry farming with LEVI LETSOKO

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For farmers to start and grow their businesses, they need 360-degree support programmes that can help them to tackle industry-related problems, as well as business support to handle the economics of running a farming enterprise.

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Joandra Cloete

A HELPING HAND Selolo and Cloete were both adopted by Fetola Business Growth Professionals. The organisation focuses on mentoring and linking new small businesses (in various sectors, including farming) to funding and paving their paths into profi table markets.

Through their relationship with Fetola, the two farmers have reached some of their milestones far quicker than they had projected. It is the goal of every farmer to outgrow subsistence farming and scale into a supplier for a broader market.

Mentorship and business support programmes like Fetola make this possible.

“I received financial support and was placed in a business mentorship programme with Fetola. The organisation doesn’t just fund small enterprises, but was also there to assist my business to reach greater heights and grow into a bigger business,” says Selolo.

“I was taught to leave my comfort zone as well as being pushed to work harder,” she adds.

Cloete also received intense training through the programme. She says it gave her business enough exposure and equipped her to remain competitive in her sector. “Fetola trained me to become compliant in terms of business management and production planning,” she explains.

“The programme awakened me to the importance of implementing all aspects of a new business, from administration to finding ways of improving the end-product supplied to consumers,” she concludes.

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eciding to walk away from a comfortable job to pursue poultry farming is not easy.

Feeding the population is a calling with opportunities, but not without a fair share of obstacles. Founder of Polokwane-based TNJ Chickens Tsholo Selolo resigned from her job in 2016 to pursue her entrepreneurial instincts. She started a cleaning company that later failed, but she didn’t give up. While exploring other possibilities, she spotted an opportunity to provide a primary service to her community. “I saw an opportunity in poultry farming. There was no one selling eggs or chickens in my area. People travelled far to purchase live chickens and eggs,” says Selolo.

In 2016, Joandra Cloete started a farming project that later grew into a company called Our Poultry Place. Through this project, she realised her goal of being a poultry farmer in her own right, while also training and creating opportunities for other emerging farmers in Mfuleni in the Western Cape.

Similar to entrepreneurs in other sectors, Cloete and Selolo had to overcome numerous obstacles to push their farming businesses to the levels they have reached thus far. “In the beginning, my biggest challenge was acquiring the agricultural land to get the project started. I applied for land from the municipality in 2018, but my application was declined,” says Cloete.

“I am currently leasing a piece of farmland from another farmer.

This year, I have again applied to lease land from the government,” she adds.

For farmers to start and grow their businesses, they need 360-degree support programmes that can help them to tackle industry-related problems, as well as business support to handle Tsholo the economics of running a farming enterprise.

Selolo Knowing where to find important information is also crucial.

Understanding which agricultural practices to adopt to produce the best offering can set emerging farmers on a growth trajectory that can be sustained over the long-term.

To stimulate consistent cash flow for her business, Selolo diversified her farming product offering, but it was too early. This became a major challenge as she could not focus on one product. Diversification is a positive step if taken strategically at the appropriate time. Selolo believes that now is the perfect time to do so.

“We started crop farming mealies and raw nuts. We have begun preparing the soil for more produce as we intend to scale into farming vegetables,” she says.

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