Browsing by Author "Mahamo, Lerato Agnes Sabina"
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- ItemA deep inquiry into poor households food security status and foodways : evidence from four urban and rural households in Maseru District, Lesotho(Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2020-03) Mahamo, Lerato Agnes Sabina; Even-Zahav, Etai; Kelly, Candice; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. School of Public Leadership.ENGLISH SUMMARY : Food insecurity remains one of Lesotho’s most pressing challenges, hindering the country’s economic and social development. The state of food insecurity in the country is being significantly altered by health-related phenomena, including the nutrition transition, the “multiple burden of malnutrition”, and very high HIV/AIDS prevalence. This challenge is further complicated by mounting environmental pressures, land degradation and the advent of climate change. Adding to this picture are socio-economic stressors such as persistent and widespread poverty, low economic growth, rapid urbanisation and concomitant livelihood changes. In order to develop successful food security interventions, it is essential that the realities and needs of poor, food-insecure households be well understood. It is particularly important to identify whether and how the distribution and level of household food insecurity vary across geographical locations and settlement patterns. The main objective of the present study was to explore the multiple meanings of food security through the lived experiences of rural and urban households in Maseru, Lesotho. Interrogating assumptions around the rural and urban dimensions of food insecurity, the study used a mixed methods research approach that combined participant observation, in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and a robust household survey developed for the purpose of assessing food insecurity in the two regions. The findings from the quantitative survey provided a valuable snapshot of participating urban and rural households’ food insecurity status, while the ethnographic exploration of food and foodways in these households allowed for a deeper analysis of the complex processes involved in what it means and how it feels to be food insecure. The themes that emerged from the data were divided into four categories: current practices (around food availability, access and utilisation), gender roles, farming traditions and household coping strategies. The survey findings reveal that all the sampled households, in both urban and rural regions, are severely food insecure. All the participants suggested that they occasionally lacked sufficient quantities of safe, nutritious and preferred food, with one of the urban households experiencing this lack more frequently. While some similarities emerged in the drivers as well as the consequences of food insecurity in urban versus rural Maseru, the primary factors governing food insecurity varied across the two regions. The study identified variations not only in food insecurity determinants and experiences across the two regions but also within households in the same region. These variations are partly the result of a complex interweaving of elements from both “modern” urban food systems and “traditional” rural food systems, which were found to co-exist within each region in Maseru. More generally, these variations call for context-specific conceptual framings and policy responses. Despite the persistent levels of food insecurity in Maseru, this study suggests that the opportunities for supporting and enhancing the food security of the poor are embedded in households’ everyday lives and food practices. The findings highlight the significance of devising food security measures that take into consideration the shifting economic, social and cultural food practices of the poor in both rural and urban regions.