1. DETERMINANTS OF RURAL HOUSEHOLDS' FOOD SECURITY STATUS IN SOUTH AFRICA: LESSONS FROM COVID-19 SOCIAL RELIEF GRANT RECIPIENTS IN NIDS-CRAM WAVE 5
- Author
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Takawira, K., Mushunje, A., and Olawuyi, So
- Subjects
Epidemics -- Influence -- South Africa ,Rural population -- Food and nutrition ,Food supply -- Forecasts and trends ,Market trend/market analysis ,Agricultural industry ,Food/cooking/nutrition ,Health - Abstract
The world experienced an unprecedented health shock (COVID-19) which caught everyone by surprise, and destabilized many sectors, especially the agri-food sector. This unpleasant situation caused upset in the food production and distribution chain, and continues to threaten the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 2 which underscores zero hunger in society. Many people in South Africa were disproportionately affected with severe consequences on their livelihood activities, food security status, health status, and general welfare conditions; and as a result, social relief intervention was put in place or expanded. This study examined the factors influencing rural households' food security status among the recipients of social relief grants in rural areas of South Africa. The study used a secondary dataset from Wave 5 of National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM). The research applied descriptive statistics to describe the respondents' socio-economic characteristics, and pattern of income flow. Food Insecurity Access Scale was employed to investigate the respondents' food security status, while multinomial logistic regression was used to explore the determinants of food security. The results showed that the majority of the respondents were black (99%), female-headed (54.15%), dwelling in flats (74.01%), with secondary education (88.6%), and heavily dependent on government grants (58.61%). Also, most households were food secure (71.69%) during the pandemic. Moreover, households headed by men were more food secure (62.84%) compared to the ones headed by the female counterparts (37.08). Multinomial regression estimates revealed that formal education (p Key words: Covid-19, social grant, rural households, food security, South Africa, INTRODUCTION Covid-19 health shock was pivotal in exacerbating food shortages and general welfare distress, especially in the global south countries [1]. The pandemic undermined the drive by the United Nations [...]
- Published
- 2024
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