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21 May 2008

The Limpopo Provincial Government held a successful Food Security Summit to explore ways in which food security could be enhanced in the province, by mitigating the effects of increasing food and commodity prices. The theme of the summit was "Freedom and Hard Work".

At this summit, leaders of both the provincial and local spheres of government were joined by stakeholders such as community development workers (CDWs) and anti-poverty non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to collectively develop a framework on how to wrestle with this challenge.

When defining food security to delegates, the Head of Department of Health and Welfare, Dr Jabu Dlamini said: "Food security involves availability of nutritious food from diverse sources to enhance healthy diet and lifestyle".

In his address to the Summit, Premier Sello Moloto emphasised that government is committed to confront the increasing food price head on. "We are aware that the inflationary pressures have pushed up food and commodity prices globally. However, our government is committed to ensure that we cushion the impact of this phenomenon on the poor and other economically vulnerable members of our province", Moloto said.

During the Summit, delegates identified things such as lack of funds, unemployment, unfavourable climatic conditions and scarcity of water as contributory factors that hinder communities from accessing adequate nutritious food.

The Summit acknowledged that lack of access to food has adverse consequences to the well being of affected households. When explaining some of the effects of lack of access to food, Mr Mogale Nchabeleng said: "Things such as malnutrition, short life expectancy, conflicts among members of households, poor performance in schools and crime fester better in an environment of want and deprivation than elsewhere".

In attempting to tackle the increasing food price sequentially, the summit has adopted a strategy that has short term, medium term and long term interventions.

The short term interventions are that:

* People should be encouraged to grow food in their backyard gardens and recycle water they use for bathing and washing clothes to water them.
* The Department of Health and Social Development must continue to give food parcels to indigent households.
* The province must establish Integrated Food Security and Nutrition Co-ordinating Committee, which will be led by the Department of Agriculture and Social Development. The committee must be fully operational by no later that 1 June 2008. It must have representation at provincial, district and local municipal levels and within the wards of the province. Popularisation of the work of this committee will commence as soon as it starts its operations in the province

Medium term interventions are that:

* Department of Agriculture must provide financial assistance to start Agrarian projects.
* It must assist deserving small scale farming communities with seedlings and farming equipments.
* It must also assist them to market their harvest.

Long term interventions are that:

* The Department of Agriculture must enhance the formation and strengthening of Agrarian co-operatives. -
* It must subsidise farmers.
* It must provide post harvest facilities such as cold rooms and drying to poor farming communities.
* The land restitution process must be tackled to enhance land ownership among historically disadvantages communities.

Enquiries:
Mogale Nchabeleng
Tel: 015 287 6311
Cell: 072 632 8984

Issued by: Office of the Premier, Limpopo Provincial Government
21 May 2008
Source: Limpopo Provincial Government (http://www.limpopo.gov.za)