South Africa is in the grips of a food system paradox. It’s a country known for its agricultural production and has a sophisticated policy framework. Yet, millions of its residents are malnourished. Nearly one in four children are stunted as a result of their mother’s poor nutrition during pregnancy and their own malnutrition in early life.
It is a complex crisis. And responding to it is being made even harder as climate change increasingly hits food production. Evidence suggests that wildfires, irregular rainfall, heat and droughts will increasingly endanger agricultural production. This will threaten jobs in the agricultural sector. It will also affect the quantity, quality and price of food.
