SA’s neighbours face serious food insecurity

Serious food insecurity can be expected in Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique until the start of the grain harvest in April. This was according to a report by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the food security outlook for this subregion from January to May 2022.

The report stated that some households in southern Zimbabwe and the other two countries were suffering extreme food insecurity. The situation had deteriorated to such an extent that OCHA had classified it as a crisis.

Conflict in Mozambique was continuing to disrupt livelihoods, and had resulted in the displacement of people, leading to the loss of food and income sources. Households affected by conflict continued to experience “crisis outcomes”, as they had little food stocks and low purchasing power.

In Zimbabwe, a combination of reduced market supply in certain southern areas and high national inflation had contributed to staple food price hikes, the report said.

Widespread ‘stressed outcomes’ still prevailed in the region, as poor households were affected by macro-economic challenges and COVID-19related income losses.

‘Crisis outcomes’ were expected to persist until the peak of the lean season in March, the report added.

In Lesotho, although imports from South Africa were available and supported that country’s market supply, high food prices and lower-than-average incomes had diminished purchasing power.

According to the report, this was expected to drive these crisis outcomes in southern parts of Lesotho. In the rest of the country, stressed outcomes were expected until May.

A report on the Southern African Development Community website said stable food availability, access to food, nutritional value and safety were vital for food security. Food security meant there was a consistent local supply of appropriate food types, either imported or produced locally.

However, food access referred to the local population’s means to purchase or barter for sufficient, safe and nutritious food, the report said.

Transformation of the agriculture sector in Africa was at the heart of driving progress towards ending poverty, hunger and malnutrition, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

“In Africa, our goal is to achieve food security for all and to make sure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food,” the FAO said in a statement.