Empirical analysis on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity in South Africa.

The study sought to ascertain the changes in the food insecurity status of households during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study made use of secondary data obtained from the 5 Waves of the National Income Dynamics Study-Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM). Descriptive statistics, food insecurity index and independent sample t-test were used to compare the mean differences in the food insecurity statuses of the households over the 5 Waves. The study found that there was an increase in food insecurity as the COVID-19 progressed from Wave 1 to 5. Significant differences at the 1% level were observed between Wave 5 and Wave 1 as well as between Wave 5 and Wave 3. The study concludes that there was food security in the initial progression of the COVID-19 pandemic which deteriorated. The study recommends a reconsideration of the scrapping of the top ups on the social grants. This will likely tighten the dire economic situation the households find themselves in. There is need to expand the social safety nets to accommodate the vulnerable in society. Short and localised value chains should be promoted to improve food accessibility during times of crisis.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the South African tobacco and alcohol industries: Experiences from British American Tobacco and Distell Group Limited.

South Africa declared a State of National Disaster due to the COVID-19 pandemic, instituting a nationwide lockdown on 26 March 2020. Sale of goods and services classified as non-essential, such as tobacco and liquor, were prohibited, leading to widespread concerns about viability, job losses and investment in these industries. The study highlighted the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the South African alcohol and tobacco industries, taking the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed British American Tobacco (BTI) and Distell Group Limited (DGH) as cases. The Chow Test was utilised to determine the presence of a structural break on the BTI and DGH share prices on both the pronouncement and enactment days of the COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, Threshold Generalised Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity (TGARCH) (1,1) was also used to test for the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown. The sample data used was daily closing share prices from 9 May 2019 to 9 May 2020, from Google Finance. The results show a structural break on the share prices on the enactment of the 26 March 2020, COVID-19 lockdown. Furthermore, the lockdown had a negative effect on the share prices of BTI and DGH. The study concludes that the COVID-19 lockdown will have long-lasting impacts on the ability of the industries to attract financing for recovery and expansion, and existing shareholders will experience reduced earnings, if any. Policy makers should promote investment by increasing interest rates, promoting local demand and supply, and provide business support to mitigate job losses.

Effectiveness of the indigent support policy on food insecurity in South Africa: Experiences from Matatiele Local Municipality.

The indigent and societally vulnerable have compromised capacities to achieve their full welfare potential. This necessitates polices that can cushion them, such as the indigent support policy in South Africa. However, there is little acknowledgement on the welfare effects of community and contextually derived support policies. The study seeks an understanding of the effectiveness of the indigent support policy on food insecurity in Matatiele Local Municipality, South Africa, using a cross sectional survey of a purposively selected sample of 549 households. Food insecurity, determinants of awareness and beneficiation as well as effectiveness from the policy are assessed through the Household Food In-Access Scale (HFIAS), Heckman two step model and Propensity Score Matching (PSM), respectively. Households are found to be food secure, with awareness and beneficiation from the indigent policy being affected by duration of stay, employment status, location, tenure, total monthly income, monthly food expenditure and food insecurity status. To add, the indigent support policy has a positive impact on food security. In conclusion, there is food security partly due to indigent support with beneficiation affected by various socio-economic factors. There is need to compliment indigent support products to include food products and promote the policy to increase awareness. Furthermore, there is need to capacitate and coordinate policy making to target food insecure households to augment and magnify the positive effects of indigent support.

Takes more than two to tango: Intrahousehold food system agency and its intricacies in South Africa.

Intra-household food system agency is affected by individual physiology, environmental diversity, variations in social conditions, relational perspectives and distribution within families, resulting in differing capabilities and functionings which have a bearing on welfare. The study used the capability approach to assess intrahousehold food system agency, its determinants and welfare impact, taking a cross-sectional survey of 1184 households from three heterogenous study sites in South Africa. Poisson count regression, Propensity Score Matching and Monte Carlo Simulations were used in the study. Duration of stay within the community, tenure, employment status and household size were significant in the number of intrahousehold food system decisions made by female heads and none-nuclear family members, with however overall reduction in number of decisions made. Yet, when female heads showed agency in agricultural production and food expenditure, food security improved by 5 % and 6 %, respectively. On the other hand, it is reduced by between 4 % and 5 % for none-nuclear family members. Duration of stay in the community and age of household head had the highest contribution to agency variation. In conclusion, there are varied intrahousehold food system decisions made by various members of the households, resulting in varying degrees of food security. In addition, variations in the socio-economic factors of the households result in varied agency, especially for female household heads and other none-nuclear family members. Female-head intrahousehold food system agency should be promoted in lieu of their positive impact on food security, and their reduced decision-making capacity in hindsight.

Qualitative benefits of livestock development programmes. Evidence from the Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo (KyD) Scheme in South Africa.

The objective of the study was to develop an index which circumvents the need for quantitative measures in evaluating Livestock Development Programmes (LDPs). This was done through a conceptual framework which integrates indexing and the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (SLF) to attain qualitative benefits. The study utilised a cross-sectional survey of Kaonafatso ya Dikgomo (KyD) Scheme participants in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape and Limpopo Provinces, South Africa, as a case. Data were collected through a questionnaire. Multiple sampling methods were used to identify 164 respondents. The results showed low benefits as exhibited by an index of 0.26. The Scheme showed highest benefits through social capital, followed by human, natural, financial and physical capital, respectively. The study concluded that concentrating on income proxies through conventional cost-benefit analysis (CBA) tends to mask the qualitative benefits exhibited by livestock improvement programmes. The theoretical lessons learnt included the exhibition and possibility of measuring qualitative benefits through indexing. Recommendations include further inquiry and refining the construction of the index to circumvent its subjectivity.

Determinants of genetically modified (GM) maize adoption and the intensity of adoption in OR Tambo District Municipality, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.

The objective of the study was to establish the factors that have significant correlation with the increase in adoption and intensity of adoption of genetically modified (GM) maize varieties. The study utilized a cross-sectional, descriptive and quantitative survey of smallholder dry maize producers. Multiple purposive sampling was utilized in the selection of 704 respondents and semi-structured interviews and pre-coded questionnaires were adopted as data collection instruments. The study sites were Mqanduli, Port St Johns and Flagstaff in King Sabatha Dalindyebo, Port St Johns and Ingquza Hill Local Municipalities in OR Tambo District Municipality. Through a Cragg's double hurdle model, the study revealed that level of education (1% level), membership to a farmer group (5% level), access to extension services and farm size (5% level) had significant positive influence on the decision to adopt GM maize. Intensity of use of GM maize was positively influenced by membership to a farmers group (5% level), access to extension services (5% level) and farm size (1% level). The study concluded that being part of a farmer organization, education, access to extension services and farm size were the most significant determinants in the dual decision to adopt GM maize and the intensity of utilization of GM maize. The study recommends awareness in line with the implemented policies and GM information dissemination toward farmer groups be promoted. The study also recommends that a balance be struck between optimization of land size devoted to GM maize and its subsequent adoption and extensive use thereof.