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Johannesburg – South Africa’s low GDP growth is one of the limiting factors that impacts the country’s score in the Global Food Security Index (GFSI).
The GFSI was compiled by The Economist Intelligence Unit, with data collected over five years. It was released earlier on Wednesday July 27 2016. The index measured each of the 113 countries against 28 indicators across three categories, being food availability, affordability and quality and safety, explained Morgan Gray, internal communications leader EMEA and Sub-Saharan Africa Communications for DuPont.
South Africa ranked 47th globally, 10th among upper-middle income countries and first among Sub-Sahara African countries. South Africa received strong scores on five of 19 indicators, suggesting there is considerable room for improvement in the country’s food security environment, the research revealed.
Read: Food security boost for rising SA
Some of South Africa’s strengths include the presence of food safety net programmes and nutritional standards, both of which it scored 100 and dependency on chronic food aid. South Africa scored moderately for sufficiency of supply and agricultural infrastructure among other factors.
Its weakest score was for GDP, which came in at 8.8, according to the index. Other weaknesses include access to financing for farmers and dietary availability of vitamin A. Access to financing for farmers could help to diversify crop production, which could improve diets, the research stated.
These weak areas present opportunities for improvement. Which can be achieved through introducing public expenditure on agricultural research and development (R&D), diet diversification and high-quality protein. “Agro R&D investment in South Africa is moderate. This is not good … there is room for improvement,” said Prabdeep Bajwa, regional business director for DuPont Pioneer Africa.
Diet diversification is important for nutrition availability, this means introducing non-starchy foods, said Gray.
South Africa’s food security environment is similar to that of Ecuador, Mexico, Romania, Turkey and Uruguay.
South Africa also scored moderately for affordability, at 53. There should be more discussion on policy to make sure everyone can have access to affordable food, explained Bajwa.
“The country has done a tremendous job in terms of technology adoption by farmers,” he said. Technology development in the field should continue, in conjunction with land reform and policy reform, he added.
South Africa's score on the GFSI over the past five years (The Economist Intelligence Unit)
