International Journal of Sustainable Development Research

| Peer-Reviewed |

Towards an Eco-social Food System: The Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Agro-ecology in South Africa

Received: Apr. 07, 2020    Accepted: May 06, 2020    Published: May 28, 2020
Views:       Downloads:

Share This Article

Abstract

Input-intensive industrial-scale production systems are not sustainable means of addressing issues such as food security, nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods. Several literatures suggest that the solution to world hunger is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices. There is considerable evidence that supports agro-ecological farming system ss a viable alternative that can improve food production especially for the most vulnerable farming households. In addition, literature shows that an agro-ecology food system holds the key to increasing dietary diversity at the local level, as well as reducing the multiple health risks from industrial agriculture. This paper is aimed at discussing the benefits of agro-ecology food system and how agricultural support systems can play a role. The emphasis of the paper is the application of the agro-ecology approach in an urban/ peri-urban setting. An evaluation report of City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Food Resilience Programme Evaluation unpublished report (2016), shows that very few households engage in gardening/ urban agriculture either in their backyards or nearby open spaces due to the following reasons; strict city by-laws, no access to land, no knowledge of innovative/alternative farming practices lack of interest and limited resources.

DOI 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11
Published in International Journal of Sustainable Development Research ( Volume 6, Issue 2, June 2020 )
Page(s) 22-29
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2024. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Agro-ecology, Food Security, Urban Agriculture, Food Systems, Biodiversity

References
[1] Crush, Hovorka, Tevera. 2011. “Food security in Southern African Cities: the place of urban agriculture”. Progress in Development Studies 2011 11: 285. http://pdj.sagepub.com/content/11/4/285.
[2] Vaarst, M., Escudero, A. G., Chappell, M. J., Brinkley, C., Nijbroek, R., Arraes, N. A.,... & Halberg, N. (2018). Exploring the concept of agro-ecological food systems in a city-region context. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 42 (6), 686-711.
[3] Kroll, F. J.; Rudolph, M. J.; Simatele, D. (2015). Gauteng City Region Observatory Food Systems Review Paper (Working Paper Series). Food Security Working Paper 1: A systemic review of food security in the Gauteng City Region. Wits Siyakhana Initiative, a division of the Wits School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies (GAES). Report Submitted June 2015.
[4] Mdee, A., Wostry, A., Coulson, A., & Maro, J. (2019). A pathway to inclusive sustainable intensification in agriculture? Assessing evidence on the application of agroecology in Tanzania. Agroecology and Sustainable Food Systems, 43 (2), 201-227.
[5] Frison, E. A. 2016. From uniformity to diversity. Biodiversity International.
[6] Muchesa. E. 2013. Sustainable extension support to land reform beneficiaries in Zimbabwe (Mashonaland West). http://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/40368/Muchesa_Sustainable_2013.pdf;sequence=1.
[7] De Wit, M. P., Blignaut, J. N., Knot, J., Midgley, S., Drimie, S., Crookes, D. J., and Nkambule N. P. 2015. Sustainable farming as a viable option for enhanced food and nutritional security and a sustainable productive resource base. Synthesis report. Green Economy Research Report, Green Fund, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Midrand.
[8] Béné, C., Oosterveer, P., Lamotte, L., Brouwer, I. D., de Haan, S., Prager, S. D.,... & Khoury, C. K. (2019). When food systems meet sustainability–Current narratives and implications for actions. World Development, 113, 116-130.
[9] FAO (2016). Growing Greener Cities. www.fao.org/ag/AGP/greenercities/.
[10] Florian Kroll, Moira Beery, Orsola Segantin, Michael Rudolph (2012). Mid-Term Evaluation of the Siyazondla Homestead Food Gardens Programme. Friend of the Earth Europe (2015). Annual Review https://www.foeeurope.org/sites/default/files/other/2015/foee_annual_report_20152_0.pdf.
[11] Lawrence, M., & Friel, S. (Eds.). (2019). Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems. Routledge.
[12] Misselhorn, A., & Hendriks, S. L. (2017). A systematic review of sub-national food insecurity research in South Africa: Missed opportunities for policy insights. PloS one, 12 (8).
[13] Frayne, Bruce et al. 2010. The State of Urban Food Insecurity in Southern Africa. Urban Food Security Series No. 2. Queen’s University and AFSUN: Kingston and Cape Town. Adapted by AFSUN from UN World Urbanization Prospectus: 2007 Revision Population Database.
[14] GCRO. 2011. Green Strategic Programme for Gauteng. Report. p 135.
[15] Greenberg. 2010. Status report on land and agricultural policy in South Africa, 2010. Institute of Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies, School of Government, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town.
[16] Chakona, G., & Shackleton, C. M. (2018). Household food insecurity along an agro-ecological gradient influences children’s nutritional status in South Africa. Frontiers in nutrition, 4, 72. IPES-Food. 2016: A paradigm shift from industrial agriculture to diversified agro-ecological systems. International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food systems.
[17] Rosset et Al. 2011. “The campesino-to-Campesino agroecology movement of ANAP in Cuba: social process methodology in the construction of sustainable peasant agriculture and food sovereignty”. The Journal of Peasant Studies, Vol 38, No1, pp 161-191.
[18] Devereux, S. (2016). Social protection for enhanced food security in sub-Saharan Africa. Food policy, 60, 52-62.
[19] Rudolph et al. 2008. Food Security, Poverty and Health in Three Study Areas of Johannesburg. Siyakhana Initiative for Ecological Health and Food Security. Final report Wits Health Consortium.
[20] Michael Rudolph, Florian Kroll, Shaun Ruysenaar & Tebogo Dlamini. (2012). “The State of Food Insecurity in Johannesburg.” Urban Food Security Series No. 12. Queen’s University and AFSUN: Kingston and Cape Town. http://www.afsun.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/AFSUN_12.pdf.
[21] Rudolph M and Kroll. F (2016). City of Johannesburg Food Resilience Programme Evaluation Final Report, Wits Commercial Enterprise, Wits Siyakhana Initiative, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies (GAES), October 2016.
[22] Sustainable Development Goals 2016 http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/.
[23] Food Security and Agricultural Livelihoods Programme (FSALP) Final report 2015.
[24] Siyakhana Initiative for Ecological Health and Food Security. 2011. Food security position brief, unpublished document.
[25] Frayne, B., & Crush, J. (2017). Food supply and urban–rural links in Southern African cities. In Food and Nutrition Security in Southern African Cities (pp. 34-47). Routledge.
[26] Wilson S 2015 The risks of rapid urbanization in developing countries World Health Organisation 2015 http://www.who.int/campaigns/world-health-day/2015/event/en/.
[27] Zita, L. (2012). Food Security Policy (Zero Hunger Programme) for the Republic of South Africa. Presentations to stakeholders at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Pretoria, February 07, 2012.
Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Michael Rudolph, Evans Muchesa, Florian Kroll. (2020). Towards an Eco-social Food System: The Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Agro-ecology in South Africa. International Journal of Sustainable Development Research, 6(2), 22-29. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11

    Copy | Download

    ACS Style

    Michael Rudolph; Evans Muchesa; Florian Kroll. Towards an Eco-social Food System: The Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Agro-ecology in South Africa. Int. J. Sustain. Dev. Res. 2020, 6(2), 22-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11

    Copy | Download

    AMA Style

    Michael Rudolph, Evans Muchesa, Florian Kroll. Towards an Eco-social Food System: The Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Agro-ecology in South Africa. Int J Sustain Dev Res. 2020;6(2):22-29. doi: 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11

    Copy | Download

  • @article{10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11,
      author = {Michael Rudolph and Evans Muchesa and Florian Kroll},
      title = {Towards an Eco-social Food System: The Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Agro-ecology in South Africa},
      journal = {International Journal of Sustainable Development Research},
      volume = {6},
      number = {2},
      pages = {22-29},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11},
      eprint = {https://download.sciencepg.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ijsdr.20200602.11},
      abstract = {Input-intensive industrial-scale production systems are not sustainable means of addressing issues such as food security, nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods. Several literatures suggest that the solution to world hunger is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices. There is considerable evidence that supports agro-ecological farming system ss a viable alternative that can improve food production especially for the most vulnerable farming households. In addition, literature shows that an agro-ecology food system holds the key to increasing dietary diversity at the local level, as well as reducing the multiple health risks from industrial agriculture. This paper is aimed at discussing the benefits of agro-ecology food system and how agricultural support systems can play a role. The emphasis of the paper is the application of the agro-ecology approach in an urban/ peri-urban setting. An evaluation report of City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Food Resilience Programme Evaluation unpublished report (2016), shows that very few households engage in gardening/ urban agriculture either in their backyards or nearby open spaces due to the following reasons; strict city by-laws, no access to land, no knowledge of innovative/alternative farming practices lack of interest and limited resources.},
     year = {2020}
    }
    

    Copy | Download

  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Towards an Eco-social Food System: The Shift from Industrial Agriculture to Agro-ecology in South Africa
    AU  - Michael Rudolph
    AU  - Evans Muchesa
    AU  - Florian Kroll
    Y1  - 2020/05/28
    PY  - 2020
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11
    T2  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JF  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    JO  - International Journal of Sustainable Development Research
    SP  - 22
    EP  - 29
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2575-1832
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijsdr.20200602.11
    AB  - Input-intensive industrial-scale production systems are not sustainable means of addressing issues such as food security, nutrition security and sustainable livelihoods. Several literatures suggest that the solution to world hunger is to diversify agriculture and reorient it around ecological practices. There is considerable evidence that supports agro-ecological farming system ss a viable alternative that can improve food production especially for the most vulnerable farming households. In addition, literature shows that an agro-ecology food system holds the key to increasing dietary diversity at the local level, as well as reducing the multiple health risks from industrial agriculture. This paper is aimed at discussing the benefits of agro-ecology food system and how agricultural support systems can play a role. The emphasis of the paper is the application of the agro-ecology approach in an urban/ peri-urban setting. An evaluation report of City of Johannesburg (CoJ) Food Resilience Programme Evaluation unpublished report (2016), shows that very few households engage in gardening/ urban agriculture either in their backyards or nearby open spaces due to the following reasons; strict city by-laws, no access to land, no knowledge of innovative/alternative farming practices lack of interest and limited resources.
    VL  - 6
    IS  - 2
    ER  - 

    Copy | Download

Author Information
  • Centre for Ecological Intelligence, Office of the Vice Chancellor, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa

  • Research and Project Development, Siyakhana Growth and Development NPO, Johannesburg, South Africa

  • Research and Project Development, Siyakhana Growth and Development NPO, Johannesburg, South Africa

  • Section