FOOD SUPPLY IS AN INTRICATE AND FRAGILE PROCESS
Food security. Do we ever stop to think what that really means? When we are loading our trollies or baskets at a supermarket or ordering from a restaurant or buying a quick hunger gap filler from a vendor – every time we engage in an activity that provides us with this basic requirement for life, we become part of a very intricate system.
Agriculture is much more than just food production on a farm; it involves strenuous research and development and meticulous project management from input manufacturing to exporting our proudly South African products. At each step are people whose livelihoods depend on this system to provide for themselves and their families, and the exponential effect of this industry in terms of job creation, investment in infrastructure and, of course, providing nourishment to all South Africans should be celebrated.
Recent events have shown how fragile food systems can become if trade routes or supply chains are disrupted for whatever reason, be it climate events, war or trade disputes. It reaffirms how valuable food security, and perhaps more importantly, food sovereignty, is for a country’s stability. Few industries have shown such remarkable resilience as South African agriculture, with the annual growth rate of the industry exceeding the overall growth rate of the economy by a third, according to the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy’s Baseline Report 2024. And so, in honour of World Food Day, let us take a moment to celebrate those responsible for getting food to our tables while using the opportunity to educate ourselves about the numerous aspects of food production that we may often take for granted.
Elriza Theron, Editor