Food and nutrition policy in South Africa : the national vision, policy space, and policy alignment
| dc.contributor.advisor | Vink, N. | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Drimie, Scott | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.author | Delport, Casey | en_ZA |
| dc.contributor.other | Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Dept. of Agricultural Economics. | en_ZA |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-02-11T20:12:38Z | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2019-04-17T08:13:19Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-02-11T20:12:38Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2019-04-17T08:13:19Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2019-04 | |
| dc.description | Thesis (MCom)--Stellenbosch University, 2019. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | ENGLISH SUMMARY : As part of the United Nations sustainable development agenda, goals two and three of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to end world hunger and to ensure general good health and well-being, respectively. However, providing the world’s population with a healthy, nutritionally adequate, affordable and environmentally sustainable diet is proving to be one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century. Coupled with rising food price volatility, increasing obesity, climate change, environmental degradation, persisting food insecurity and numerous food safety crises, there has been a rapid increase of calls for more sustainable and integrated food systems and food policies alike. However, food policy offers a substantial challenge to governments across the globe as, amongst many other issues, it spans across multiple policy areas- thereby demanding various responses across these said different policy sectors. Furthermore, government structures often create inconsistent policies due to separate political mandates and the perusal of various self-interests. The study by Hendriks (2013) states that the overall goal of food and nutrition security related policies is to; “achieve household food and nutrition security and support individuals in accessing adequate individual dietary intakes to meet their needs at different stages in the human life cycle.” However, as demonstrated within this study, it is clear that South Africa’s current food and nutrition related policies are far from reaching this objective. Building on this, the aim of this study was twofold: firstly to assess the full South African national policy landscape pertaining to the food system in order to understand policy alignment and coherence across and within sectors, and to indicate the implications thereof. Secondly, to provide an alternative way to view the South African food system, and correspondingly provide a framing for more effective alignment and coherence in food policy in order to ensure adequate food and nutrition security. The results of this study revealed three key dimensions that are evidently overlooked in South African food policy: 1) the complexity of the food system, as revealed when taking a social-ecological system lens, which subsequently highlights the challenges, assumptions, and expectations of governing this complex system through policy; 2) what appropriate policy responses to the food system would be; and 3) the (mis)alignment of policy (across sectors). Upon inspection of the policy matrix adapted from the approach by Harris et al (2017) and through use of the social-ecological system approach, results clearly demonstrate significant levels of redundancy, contradiction and internal and external sector misalignment. This in turn has highlighted issues surrounding departmental vision and the necessary mechanisms required to ensure the coordination of sectors and internal directorates mandated to provide the overall policy guidance at provincial and local government. Furthermore, this study illustrates that applying a social-ecological systems approach to food systems has many advantages, particularly with regards to understanding the interconnected dynamics of environmental and societal issues within the food system as a whole. This in turn, has important implications for policy makers to improve policy in general, and food and nutrition policy in particular. | en_ZA |
| dc.description.abstract | AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : As deel van die Verenigde Nasies se volhoubare ontwikkelingsagenda beoog doelwit twee en drie van die Volhoubare Ontwikkelingsdoelwitte (VOD’s) om onderskeidelik hongersnood wêreldwyd te beëindig en om algehele goeie gesondheid en welstand te verseker. Dit blyk egter dat dit een van die grootste uitdagings van die 21ste eeu is om die wêreld se populasie van `n gesonde, voedsame, bekostigbare en omgewingsvolhoubare dieet te voorsien. Saam met stygende onbestendige voedselpryse, toenemende vetsug, klimaatsverandering, omgewingsdegredasie, volgehoue voedselonsekerheid en talle voedselveiligheidskrisisse, is daar `n vinnige toename in die vraag na meer volhoubare en geïntegreerde voedselstelsels en –beleide. Die voedselbeleid bied egter `n wesenlike uitdaging vir regerings regoor die wêreld, aangesien dit onder andere oor verskeie beleidsrigtings strek. Sodoende word daar verskeie reaksies van die verskillende beleidsektore vereis. Verder skep regeringstrukture dikwels teenstrydige beleide weens afsonderlike politieke mandate en die insae van verskillende selfbelange. Die studie gedoen deur Hendricks (2013) noem dat die algehele doelwit van beleide verwant aan voedsel- en voedingsekuriteit is om “voedsel- en voedingsekuriteit in huishoudings te bewerkstellig en om individue te ondersteun om toegang te verkry tot voldoende individuele dieetinnames om sodoende hulle behoeftes in die verskillende stadiums van die menslike lewenssiklus te bevredig”. Soos aangedui in hierdie studie is dit egter duidelik dat Suid-Afrika se huidige voedsel- en voedingsverwante beleide nie naastenby hierdie doelwit bereik nie. Op grond hiervan is die doel van hierdie studie tweeledig: die eerste doel is om die volledige Suid-Afrikaanse nasionale beleidslandskap te evalueer ten einde die belyning en samehang van beleide tussen en binne sektore te verstaan, en om die implikasies hiervan te kan aandui. Die tweede doel is om `n alternatiewe manier te vind om die Suid-Afrikaanse voedselsisteem te beskou en om dienooreenkomstig `n raamwerk te voorsien waarvolgens meer effektiewe belyning en samehang in die voedselbeleid verseker kan word, om soedoende voedsel- en voedingsekuritiet te verseker. Die bevindinge van die studie het drie belangrike dimensies bekendgemaak wat klaarblyklik in die Suid-Afrikaanse voedselbeleid misgekyk word: 1) die kompleksiteit van die voedselsisteem, soos gesien wanneer daar deur `n sosiaal-ekologiese lens daarna gekyk word, wat gevolglik die uitdagings, aannames en verwagtinge van die beheer van dié komplekse stelsel deur middel van beleid beklemtoon; 2) wat geskikte beleidsreaksies op die voedselsisteem sal wees; 3) die (verkeerde) belyning van beleid (oor sektore heen). Deur die ondersoek van die beleidsmatriks aangepas uit Harris et al (2017) se benadering, en deur gebruik te maak van die sosiaal-ekologiese stelselbenadering kan daar duidelik gesien word dat resultate beduiden Die bogenoemde het dus klem gelê op kwessies rondom die departementele visie en die meganismes wat nodig is om koördinering van sektore te verseker; en interne direktorate wat veronderstel is om algehele beleidsvoorligting aan provinsiale en plaaslike regerings te voorsien. Verder dui die studie ook daarop dat die gebruik van die sosiaal-ekologiese stelselbenadering tot voedselstelsels verskeie voordele het, veral met betrekking tot die begrip van die onderling verbinde dinamika van omgewings- en maatskaplike kwessies in die voedselstelsel as geheel. Op sy beurt het dit ook belangrike implikasies vir beleidmakers om beleid in die algemeen te verbeter en voeding en voedsel beleid spesifiek. | af_ZA |
| dc.format.extent | ix, 86 pages ; illustrations | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/105797 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_ZA | en_ZA |
| dc.publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University | |
| dc.rights.holder | Stellenbosch University | |
| dc.subject | Nutrition policy -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Nutrition policy -- Economic aspects -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Nutrition policy -- Social aspects -- South Africa | en_ZA |
| dc.subject | Food supply -- Government policy -- South Africa | |
| dc.subject | UCTD | en_ZA |
| dc.title | Food and nutrition policy in South Africa : the national vision, policy space, and policy alignment | en_ZA |
| dc.type | Thesis | en_ZA |