Table of ContentsIntroductionDiscussionConclusionReferencesIntroduction The future of food security in South Africa appears to be very diverse in terms of opportunities, but its importance also appears to be largely overlooked. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food security is defined as "all people, at all times, have a physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their needs. dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle. It is estimated that around 14 million people go to bed hungry every night in a country with a population of around 57 million, meaning that around 24 percent of our population does not meet global food safety standards. The potential consequences of food insecurity on a population include hunger, malnutrition and many other adverse effects, direct or indirect, on health and quality of life. Recent studies by the UN and FAO have shown that the world population will exceed 9 billion by 2050. This would indicate that, combined with the growing human demand for protein-rich, energy- and nutrient-rich foods , we may soon face a huge challenge in meeting these needs. unprecedented supply and demand for farmers and food suppliers. This would mean that we should find new ways to address this challenge through agricultural systems that are sustainable and promote better access to food for all sectors of society. The main drivers of food insecurity include increasing demand for food, climate change, availability of natural resources and lack of public and private investment in infrastructure as well as research and development in the agricultural sector, although that ultimately factors vary among counties/regions due to their unique list of physical, economic, and social circumstances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”?Get the original essayDiscussionDue to South Africa's low socio-economic perspective, the majority of households spend a large portion of their income on food, meaning that something as common as a food price increase would directly reduce the quality as well as the quantity of food these households can afford. This would have a disastrous impact on food security at the household level (Valdez and Foster, 2012). Due to South Africa's heavy reliance on imports of basic food commodities such as wheat, we have managed to increase our reliance on global wheat supplies, which can directly harm to household food security, as we created increased sensitivity to international prices, as we saw in 2007. – 2008, where production deficits occurred in several major exporting countries, leading to an increase in the global number of undernourished people of just under 100 million people. Food prices are directly linked to agricultural operating costs (machinery, transport, food processing to name a few), meaning that we are directly dependent on the price of fossil fuels which globally account for 30% of the cost. percent of the world's total energy consumption. This direct correlation between the rise in oil prices and the prices ofSouth African products can be seen below in Table 1 which displays an average correlation of 0.74 between the product types shown below, indicating a very strong relationship between the two. If we want to properly solve the problem at hand, we will need to examine what alternative fuels could be used to operate the necessary machinery, transportation and food processing. Government support for biofuel production has been very weak, as previous studies by the Bureau of Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) (2007) and Letete (2009) showed that the economic viability of biofuels from crops locally grown energy sources may not be favorable. Studies have shown that even with economic conditions, the only crop that constitutes a viable alternative is sugarcane ethanol. This would mean that the government as well as the private sector would have to do more to encourage and help make renewable fuels more viable by subsidizing the costs. Another major driver of food insecurity is the link between water and food, which is first manifested through water pricing. South Africa has historically undervalued its water supply due to the abundance we are accustomed to, but we are quickly approaching a point of water scarcity. What has become a reality between the El Niño phenomenon that we experienced recently, followed by a long period of drought, has led water prices over the last decade to follow a trajectory similar to that of the electricity in South Africa. Due to climate change and the fact that South Africa is known as a water-averse country, we will need to look at making better crop choices if we are to make food security a priority. Water scarcity also indirectly impacts food production through energy production, as food production is very energy intensive, as is water consumption in South Africa to produce energy. Indeed, South Africa is extremely dependent on outdated coal-fired power plants, which rely heavily on a constant supply of water. Electricity costs have increased by more than 24 percent since 2007-08, which has had a very profound impact on the agricultural sector. The primary agricultural sector consumes three percent of all electricity consumed in South Africa, which has increased by three percent per year since 1999. But according to the graph below, costs have increased by twenty percent since 2009 It is estimated that rising energy prices will change the allocation and distribution of water (Ziberman et al, 2008). It is believed that rising energy prices will have the greatest impact on agricultural activities such as irrigation systems, groundwater pumping, as well as surface water diversion and irrigation, making essentially more expensive extraction, transport and purification. Energy and water prices are expected to rise steadily in the future given the enormous additional capacity planned to meet and essentially meet the growing demand for electricity and transportation, coupled with continued price increases oil volatiles. For the most part, these costs will fall on the taxpayer who will have to foot the bill and will have other negative implications for food security. These costs not only burden consumers, but also farmers, who essentially make less money for the same product as input costs constantly reduce profit margins. Previous studies have also shown that retailers alsostruggling to manage input costs, as shown in the diagram below, due to highly inflated increases in water and electricity (600%). These retailers are struggling to absorb these costs and essentially are not able to do so and end up doing so. must pass on part of these costs to the consumer or risk going bankrupt. South Africa is currently in the process of assessing and managing its energy options and conducting an investigation into all available technologies to encourage sustainable energy options. Although solutions currently exist at local and regional levels, the problem has always been to extend them to a departmental and notional level. This is where the government will need to step in and ensure that a project of this magnitude benefits from the necessary budgetary requirements as well as the level of management required to ensure its success. For example, one of many solutions is the Water Research Commission (WRC), which targets the integration of irrigation and nutrient delivery. This project aims to reduce current water and fertilizer consumption by farmers, while maximizing the production of these farmers to ensure that they meet the demands of a growing population. One issue that is causing increasing concern is the popular response that seems to stem from the above issues, namely the mass migration of people to cities, in an attempt to avoid ending up in such dire situations as of not having a sufficient supply of water or energy to sustain their population. a sustainable standard of living which essentially results in increased expansion of informal settlements, which further brings its own set of challenges for people trying to avoid this same situation. A particular solution would be to achieve and maximize energy savings in the water supply sector. Currently, we do not have sufficient information on energy consumption in the water cycle in South Africa. Once this information is available, we can consider energy-efficient improvements that would ultimately alleviate shortages, waste and unsustainable uses. Another solution would come at the regional level, which would be to implement a water trading system the benefits of which we have already seen through projects such as the Lesotho Highlands Water Project and the Nkomati Project. We may need to look to these successful examples to engage more parties. like our neighboring countries, namely Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Further projects in this regard would only seek to improve the current situation in South Africa, as such trade would benefit all parts of the SADC region and ultimately seek to bring an end to hardship and poverty across the region. Conclusion In conclusion Food inflation has become a problem. a threat to food security in South Africa, as has been the case in many other emerging markets around the world. As detailed above, energy and water have a very strong connection to this threat and addressing these issues by passing costs onto consumers, manufacturers and retailers essentially leads to additional negative implications for food security . If these problems are not addressed upfront instead of being passed down, we will find ourselves in the same situation as many other third world economies. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized article from our expert writers now. The government can also (2009), 10.1: 11-21.