Masters Degrees (Food Science)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/538

Browse

Browsing Masters Degrees (Food Science) by browse.metadata.advisor "Boatemaa, Sandra"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Changing childcare demands due to Covid-19 regulations: Impact on maternal employment and household food security, in South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-04) Barlow, Vine; Boatemaa, Sandra; Sigge, G. O.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Food Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Background: Women traditionally bear the brunt of unpaid care work, however, with the ever- increasing population and struggling economy, their role in the economy has become more significant. Despite more women entering the labour market, they are still responsible for the majority of unpaid care work. The Coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the restriction of childcare services and school closures around the world, the increased childcare demands have fallen disproportionately on women. Women play an integral role in household food security through their reproductive and productive responsibilities. Their reproductive responsibilities refer to their care and domestic duties such as sourcing, preparing and serving food and caring for children. Their productive responsibilities refer to their paid work in the community which has an effect on their household resources for food. Methods: This study investigated the association between the government responses of COVID-19 and childcare, maternal employment, and household food security in South Africa, during June 2020 using data from the National Income Dynamics Study – Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) . The NIDS-CRAM is a nationally representative sample of the South African population, that focusses on the socio-economic effects of the pandemic. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were conducted with a sample of 1664 women who had at least a child (<18 years old) in their care during June 2020. Results: More than a third of the mothers did not work in June 2020 (68%). Forty three percent of the mothers had increased childcare demands which impacted their ability to work. About 1 in 2 households ran out of money to buy food (45%). Mothers who reported that they were unemployed, and childcare affected their ability to work had increased odds of running out of money to buy food in June 2020 (OR=1.60, p=0.000). Women who reported that government grants were their main source of income, had increased odds of running out of money for food (OR=1.57, p=0.001). The number of children in the household also increased the odds of the household running out of money for food (OR=1.10; p=0.030) Conclusion: Increased childcare demands limited women’s ability to work or search for work during the lockdown. We established that mothers whose work was affected by increased childcare demands were more likely to run out of money for food. Therefore, we can conclude that childcare demands impact household food security. The risk of household food security increased with the age and number of children in care. Women who reported that government grants were their main source of income have increased odds of running out of money for food. We can therefore conclude that social protection grants are insufficient to protect household food security. Recommendation: The gender policy framework should incorporate programmes directly targeted at men, as a pathway for gender mainstreaming. Education and training on the importance of sharing the burden of unpaid care work can affect change in traditional gender roles. Furthermore, we also recommend that food security be prioritised in social development policies and that more resources are put towards social protection.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Establishing a university-wide culture on sustainability by developing sustainability change agents: lessons from Stellenbosch University’s listen, live and learn (LLL) initiative
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2021-03) Langa, Zamokuhle Vanessa; Boatemaa, Sandra; Koen, Nelene; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgriSciences. Dept. of Food Science.; Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Universities are one of many solutions and problems to the global sustainability challenge. They are large in size with a growing population, they have various complex environmentally compromising activities, and are responsible for educating and developing future leaders, entrepreneurs and active citizens at large. Stellenbosch University (SU) can facilitate continuity in establishing a university-wide culture on sustainability by developing change agents through the Listen, Live, Learn (LLL) initiatives at SU. The LLL is a flagship residence with a co- curricular program that aims to encourage social cohesion and change agency among its participants. This study explored learning outcomes of students (in terms of agency development, self-awareness, and enquiring mind) after they lived in the LLL sustainability lot for a year and their recommendations for improving the program. Secondary data on the participants’ final reflections on the LLL co-curricular programme were obtained from the LLL coordinators and analysed using thematic analysis as per Azuma’s et al. (2010), framework for guidelines for program designs that best serve the development of change agents. The research findings in this study revealed that: (1) The LLL participants did not interact regularly; (2) The students reported that they learned valuable in terms of agency development, self-awareness, and enquiring mind; (3) In this study the respondents noted that their experience in the LLL program can be improved through proper planning, conflict resolution, and improved communication. This study found that the LLL program produces change in students. However, whether this change will result in behaviour is yet to be examined. The LLL program can promote regular interactions that are related to the themes of the student houses and improve planning, communication and conflict resolution to enhance the impact of the program.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    The impact of urban agriculture on household food security in Cape Town, South Africa
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2022-03) Smit, Jonese Elsje; Boatemaa, Sandra; Sigge, G. O.; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Food Science.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Feeding the rapidly growing global population whilst combatting climate change remains a global food security challenge. By 2050, our global population is expected to reach 9.2 billion of which 68% would live in urban areas. Rapid urbanization results in unpredictable food shortages and creates several food security challenges. Urban households in Cape Town, are facing high levels of food insecurity and are struggling to access food. Urban agriculture is gaining increasing attention for being a sustainable strategy to improve food access, diversity, and income generation in urban areas. This study assessed the impact of urban agriculture on household-level food security in Cape Town, South Africa. The open-source survey dataset, Consuming Urban Poverty Surveys (CUPS), was obtained from interviews with a sample size of 2500 households in Cape Town. The data is analysed using a logistic regression model in R. Majority of urban households were food insecure and only 3.91% of the respondents practised urban agriculture by home-grown crops. The majority of households did not own livestock and very few participants (2.72%) participated in community food garden projects. A total of 3.62% of the sampled households participated in at least one of the three UA events. Household food security was significantly associated with household size, age and male (gender) of household heads. This study found that urban agriculture (UA) was statistically significantly (p<0.05) in the bivariate analysis model, indicating that there is indeed a relationship between urban agriculture and household food security. However, the extent to which urban agriculture impacts household-level food security is limited, due to the lack of supporting policies to promote and acknowledge the role of urban agriculture in improving food access, diversification and income generation for poor urban households. The type of household structure also influenced household food security, with female-centred (p<0), male-centred (p<0.01) and other household structures (p<0.01) being statistically significant indicating a relationship with household food security. Social grants were significant for several levels of importance, including being considered as neutral (p<0), very important (p<0), not important (p<0.01), not important at all (p<0.01). Child grants were significant (p<0) as well as household incomes obtained from the formal-, informal- and casual-employment sources (p<0).