Community-based agricultural interventions in the context of food and nutrition security in South Africa

Abstract

Despite South Africa being a food-secure country in terms of aggregate food availability, it is listed by the World Health Organization as one of 36 high-burden countries, home to large numbers of stunted children. Recent findings, in the context of both over- and under-nutrition, have indicated that adult and child malnutrition rates have deteriorated in South Africa. The complementarities and synergies between food availability, access and utilisation need to be aligned in interventions used to address and strengthen food and nutrition security. This is particularly pertinent in the context of the widespread AIDS epidemic which interacts with food insecurity in complex ways.