An Overview. DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.
-
Upload
myles-lawrence -
Category
Documents
-
view
221 -
download
1
Transcript of An Overview. DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security.
An Overview
DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security
How will we feed ourselves in the future?
Unless we change our production or consumption patterns, “…in the next 40 years we need to produce more food than we have produced over the last 8000 years” (Josette Sheeran, 2012)
• Put fewer spoons on the table
• Bake a bigger and better cakes
• Teach everyone better table manners (adapted from Joel Cohen, 1995)
Some concepts• Food is any substance,
whether processed, semi-processed or raw, which is intended for human consumption … and any substance which has been used in the manufacture, preparation or treatment of “food” (Codex Alimentarius 1963)
• Eating is an agricultural act. Eating ends the annual drama of the food economy that begins with planting and birth (Wendell Berry, 1990)
• (food is) a highly condensed social fact (Arjun Appadurai 1981)
• Food security exists when all people at all times have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. This definition has been identified with the four dimensions of food security: availability, access, stability and utilisation. It embodies the food and care-related aspects of good nutrition (Committee on World Food Security 1996, 2012)
The Food System
• A large number of interacting parts• Complex in their arrangement and characterised
by interdependence• Populated by “keystone” entities• Dynamically seeking equilibrium through motion• Interactions are non-simple, change is non-linear• Vulnerable to internal and exogenous forces
(Bertanlanffy, 1968; Paine, 1995; Progogine, & Stengers, 1984; Saafy & Kearns, 1985; Simon, 1962)
ContestationThe Food System
Food Security as a Wicked Problem
• Food security problems are not solved, at best they are only re-solved, repeatedly: they are “wicked problems” or “social messes”
• Wicked problems do not have an enumerable set of potential solutions (Rittel & Webber, 1973)
• Every problem interacts with other problems and is therefore part of a set of interrelated problems, a system of problems…. a (social) mess (Ackoff, 1997)
• ... exist in a dynamic, changing world. Thus, ameliorative efforts may have substantial, yet impermanent effects (Horn & Weber, 2007)
• Solutions may generate second-order problems (Saaty & Kearns, 1985)
Our contention is…
• Food and nutritional security is imperative for human survival with dignity
• Economic vitality, social justice, human health and environmental health
• Producers, processors, distributors and consumers are incorporated into the food system under varying terms and returns
• Changing food systems impact on South Africa• We make a difference to food security by linking
innovative science to critical enquiry
The South African Situation
Stats SA, 2003-2014
Stats SA, 2013, 2014
Hunger
Poverty
The South African Situation
Challenges in health & nutrition
Diabetes prevalence
NFCS, 1999; NFCS, 2005; SANHANES, 2012
Peer, N., Steyn, K., Lombard, C., Lambert, E. V., Vythilingum, B., & Levitt, N. S. (2012).PSLDS, 1993; NFCS, 1999; NIDS, 2008; SANHANES, 2012
Anthropometric status of children< 5 yrs
Challenges in production & processingConcentration of farm enterprises
Stats SA, Manufacturing Census, 2008
Concentration of processing enterprises
Stats SA, Agricultural Censuses, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2007
Challenges of water & climate
• Greater climatic variability• Increased demand for
animal protein• Increased costs of energy• Decrease in the
availability of water
2005 Annual water balance in SA catchments. Source: DWAF Water Situation Assessment Model
Challenges in distribution & pricing
• A rapid, but uneven transition of the urban food system
• Increasing penetration of supermarkets into low income areas
• This has implications for value chains, food-based livelihoods, consumer food choice and diet-related health
Challenges of inequality
• The poorest 10% of households received less than 0.5% of all income
• 90% of households received 55% of all income
• The income of the wealthiest group is 88 times greater than that of the poorest decile
Stats SA, 2013, MDG Report
South Africa doesnot have a sustainablefood system to realise food security and nutritionfor the poor
Seven million South Africans experience chronic or more severe hunger, 21 million are overweight or obese
Production & provisioning is becoming less diversified
Cost, quality & sustainability of inputs, including water & soil, threaten food security
Widespread loss & waste of food
Cheap food at the expense of livelihoods and health
Unresolved inequities of land & opportunity
Unhealthy diets and lifestyles leading to an epidemic of non-communicable disease
Food contaminated with pathogens
Food governance does not connect state & citizen
The right to food not implemented
Poor coordination between responsible institutions
Data incomplete, inconsistent and dated
Ishikawa/Fishbone Diagram
Causal Factor 1
Causal Factor 3
Causal Factor 5
Causal Factor 6
Causal Factor 9
Problem, effect or solution
Causal Factor 2
Causal Factor 4
Causal Factor 6
Causal Factor 8
Causal Factor 1
Ishikawa/Fishbone Diagram
Gender & Identity
Policies & Rights
Nutrition & Health
Value Chains & Livelihoods
Production
SouthAfrica doesnot have asustainable food system to realise food security and nutrition for the poor
Ethics & Values
Safety & Control
Diet & Behaviour
Markets & Prices
Processing
Contestation Governance Consumption Distribution Creation
Gender & Identity
Policies & Rights
Nutrition & Health
Value Chains & Livelihoods
Production
SouthAfrica doesnot have asustainable food system to realise food security and nutrition for the poor
Ethics & Values
Safety & Control
Diet & Behaviour
Markets & Prices
Processing
Contestation Governance Consumption Distribution Creation
Fresh produce safety
Multi-level government
Animal produce safety
CSG & food choices
Policy for diet change
Policy for choice change
Determinants of Hhd food security
Food Food inflation & price transmission
Financialisation & food security
Food in the informal economy
Farm-worker livelihoods
Agro-food value chains
Agro-food processing SMME’s Post-harvest wastage & loss
Processing Indigenous crops
Right to food Participatory
governance Regulations Measurement &
monitoring
Life course consequences
Highly vulnerable groups
Diet assessment tools
Gender & Identity
Policies & Rights
Nutrition & Health
Value Chains & Livelihoods
Production
SouthAfrica doesnot have asustainable food system to realise food security and nutrition for the poor
Ethics & Values
Safety & Control
Diet & Choice
Markets & Prices
Processing
Urban self-provisioning Sustainable inputs (feed, water, soil Small-holder production Commercial production
Long term research questions
• How is the global and national food system changing and how does this affect the sustainability, availability, access and attributes of food?
• Who are the ‘food insecure’, where are they located, what are their choices, strategies and opportunities when seeking food security, health, and well-being and how do these change in response to the changing food system?
• What policies, technologies, interventions and products enable access to affordable and nutritious food in ecological, economic, social and politically sustainable ways?
Immediate questions
• What is on the South African consumer’s plate?
• Are these items nourishing, safe and affordable?
• What role do enterprises of different sizes play in bringing these items to this plate?
• What direct role did the state play in putting these items on this plate?
Building the plane while flying it
Configuring a Multi-disciplinary COE
• “Scientific research activity gives rise to a range of social and cognitive organisational configurations” (Shinn, 1982: 251)
• The COE in Food Security has adopted an ‘organic’ model of organisation comprising:– Pluralistic leadership based on negotiation– A flat hierarchy within which programme PI’s identify and
guide key projects– Most projects adopt the epistemic structure of the
disciplines within which they operate– Some projects break new ground through trans-
disciplinary research
Structure
Role of the PI and PPI’s
• Four thematic areas, each with two programmes led by senior researchers (Programme Principal Investigators)– Scientists who craft the research agenda– Mediators who bridge gaps– Project leaders who manage diverse teams– Architects and “boundary spanners” (Shinn, 1988)
Progress
• Launched April, 2014• Directors and PPIs appointed and MANCO constituted• Combined Research Plan accepted by NRF• First and second calls for proposals issued• 40 concept notes submitted, 28 approved for funding from 2014 budget• Draft Organisation Strategy, Communication Strategy and proposals
templates and MIS prepared• Appointment of Centre support staff in progress• MOU and SLA between NRF, UWC and UP prepared• COE Steering Committee constituted• Over 10 visibility activities undertaken• Equipment purchased and office space assigned• An additional R8.6 million in process for a theme in Food Contestation• An additional R500 000 raised for collaborative projects• Website and social media established
Opportunities for Research Community
• Bursaries for post-graduate students• Collaborations with national and international
researchers• Trans-disciplinarity• Testing innovation• Access to policy makers• Crowding in funding
How to find out more
• Call for concept notes each year in April• Concepts notes that fall within the scope and priorities of CoE
are invited to submit full proposals in May• Proposals must be submitted by 01 August• Recommended proposals submitted to Steering Committee in
October• Approval in November• Contracting from January the follow year• Register on our database by contacting Jacqueline Tamri
([email protected])• Read the manual at: http://www.uwc.ac.za/Faculties/EMS/COEFS• Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/496797523765303/
DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security
• Food Creation– Production, processing & preservation
• Food Distribution– Markets, livelihoods & value chains
• Food Consumption– Health, nutrition, choice & behaviour
• Food Governance– Safety, standards, policy & rights
• Food Contestation– Gender, identity, values & ethics
References
• Ackoff, RL. 1997. Systems, messes and interactive planning. The Societal Engagement of Social Science, 3, 417-438.
• Appadurai, A. 1981. Gastro politics in Hindu South Asia. ‐ American Ethnologist, 8(3), 494-511.
• Berry, W., 1990. The pleasure of eating, in What are people for?: Essays, North Point Press.
• Bertalanffy, L., 1968. General Systems Theory, George Braziller, New York.• Cohen, JE. 1995. How Many People Can the Earth Support? W. W. Norton, New
York.• DST-NRF, 2012. Handbook to Assist with the Operation of a DST-NRF Centre of
Excellence, v3.1, Dept of Science & Technology, National Research Foundation, Pretoria.
• Horn, RE., & Weber, RP. 2007. New tools for resolving wicked problems. MacroVu Inc and Strategy Kinetics. Available at: http://www. strategykinetics. com/files/New_Tools_For_Resolving_Wicked_Problems. pdf.
• Kaipa, P. 2000. Knowledge architecture for the twenty-first century. Behaviour & information Technology, 19(3), 153-161.
• Kirsh, D. 1996. Adapting the environment instead of oneself, Adaptive Behavior, 4(3-4):415-452.
References
• Paine, RT., 1995. Conversation on Refining the Concept of Keystone Species , Conservation Biology, 9(4): 962-964.
• Pollan, M. 2006. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin.• Rittel, HW. & Webber, M.M. 1973. Planning Problems are Wicked. Polity, 4, 155-69.• Saaty, TL. & Kearns, KP., 1985. Analytical Planning: The Organisaton of Systems, International Series
in Modern Applied Mathematics and Computer Science Vol. 7, Pergamon Press, Oxford• Sheeran, J. 2012. Public-Private Partnerships Innovating to End Malnutrition, 22nd Annual Martin J.
Forman Memorial Lecture, December 4, 2012, available at http://www.ifpri.org/event/22nd-annual-martin-j-forman-memorial-lecture.
• Shinn, T., 1982. Scientific disciplines and organisational specificity: The social and cognitive configuration of laboratory activities, in Elia, N., Martins, H. & Whitley, R., Scientific Establishments and Hierarchies, Sociology of the Sciences Yearbook 1982, D. Reidel Publishing Company, Boston.
• Shinn, T. ,1988. Hierarchies des chercheurs et formes de recherche. Actes de la Recherche en Sciences Sociales, 74, 2–22.
• Simon, HA., 1962. The architecture of complexity, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, 106(6): 467-482.
• Vogt, K. (Ed.). 1997. Ecosystems: balancing science with management. Springer.