Moving from traditional government to new adaptive governance: the changing face of food security responses in South Africa

Pereira, Laura; Ruysenaar, Shaun

doi:10.1007/s12571-012-0164-5

Cited by 69 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(72 reference statements)

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“…In South Africa local manifestations of wider change processes, such as droughts and job losses in the agriculture sector, have provided a context in which the private sector is starting to see the need to address these emergent problems in their business strategies-arguably to start thinking about transitioning towards more sustainable practices. Due to the complex nature of the food system, these responses can be amplified to produce a sea-change towards a more sustainable system, but in order for this to occur, more critical actors need to come on board [34].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(3) A mutual process between producers and buyers that addresses the needs of both-the key is to build on meeting mutual needs and thus creating equal benefits: retailers want produce that they can sell to their customers who want good healthy food, and farmers want a market; the real contention lies in how the specifics are negotiated. If the negotiation is conducted in the spirit of partnership and mutual understanding rather than through dictated terms, this is more likely to meet the requirements of all parties better [34]. The key is to make the result as mutually beneficial to all parties as possible.…”

Section: The Developing World: Food Consumption In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…South Africa has a well-established agrifood sector that is facing increasing pressure from various sources; including climate variability affecting production, a global drive towards "sustainability", certification and the need to support local capacity development in the agricultural sector [34]. According to Pereira [22], South African food business has a triple prerogative regarding building a more sustainable food system:…”

Section: South Africa As a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although I do not expand on the "African critique" to Western-style liberal democratic governance (see Swilling et al [40] for an in-depth analysis of governance in African cities), many of its criticisms reflect the problems identified in the mono-centric approach to food governance [34]. The importance of "relational capital" in a complex, fluid and inter-connected society with entrenched diversity does not map well onto the governance schema proposed by development institutions [40].…”

Section: South Africa As a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Future of the Food System: Cases Involving the Private Sector in South Africa

Pereira

2013

Sustainability

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Abstract:The food system is facing unprecedented pressure from environmental change exacerbated by the expansion of agri-food corporations that are consolidating their power in the global food chain. Although Africa missed the Green Revolution and the wave of supermarket expansion that hit the West and then spread to Asia and Latin America, this is unlikely to continue. With a large proportion of sub-Saharan African countries' GDP still heavily reliant on agriculture, global trends in agri-food business are having an increasing impact on African countries. South Africa, a leader in agribusiness on the continent, has a well-established agri-food sector that is facing increasing pressure from various social and environmental sources. This paper uses interview data with corporate executives from South African food businesses to explore how they are adapting to the dual pressures of environmental change and globalisation. It shows that companies now have to adapt to macro-trends both within and outside the formal food sector and how this in turn has repercussions for building sustainable farming systems-both small and large-scale. It concludes with the recognition that building a sustainable food system is a complex process involving a diversity of actors, however changes are already being seen. Businesses have strategically recognised the need to align the economic bottom line with social and environmental factors, but real sustainability will only happen when all stakeholders are included in food governance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Developing World: Food Consumption In Africamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: South Africa As a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: South Africa As a Case Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

The Future of the Food System: Cases Involving the Private Sector in South Africa

Pereira

2013

Sustainability

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“…But even worse, the efforts towards food security are thwarted by population growth and increasing scarcity of agricultural inputs. Notwithstanding efforts to improve food security governance (Pereira and Ruysenaar 2012) a common strategy towards global food security is agricultural intensification with increasing inputs of fertilisers, mainly nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) to increase yields (Pinstrup-Andersen and Pandya-Lorch 1998; Baldos and Hertel 2014;PinstrupAndersen 2014). While N fertilisers can be produced from atmospheric nitrogen (using energy), K and P fertilisers are extracted from depletable mines.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Phosphorus recycling and food security in the long run: a conceptual modelling approach

Weikard

2016

Food Sec.

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Food security for all is a global political goal and an outstanding moral concern. The common response to this concern is agricultural intensification, which includes among other things increasing inputs of fertilisers. The paper addresses the fact that phosphorus (P) is essential for agricultural production but large and increasing amounts of P fertilisers stem from depletable mines. This raises sustainability concerns and the possibility of long-term food insecurity. The paper analyses three scenarios for global phosphorus extraction and recycling under discounted utilitarianism. First, for a benchmark scenario without recycling, food security will inevitably be violated in the long run. Second, if we introduce P recycling, food security can be maintained but food production falls over time and approaches a minimum level just sufficient to feed the global population. Third, a sustainable (i.e. non-declining) path of food production is feasible. Compared to just maintaining a minimum level of food production the sustainable path requires greater recycling efforts. Recycling efforts are increasing over time but the total discounted costs are finite and, hence, sustainable food production seems feasible even if it depends on depletable phosphate mines.Keywords Phosphorus depletion . Food security . Phosphorus recycling . Sustainable food production Depletable phosphate mines: impacts for long-run food securityThe well-being of about one billion people is threatened by hunger and food insecurity (FAO 2009). This is arguably a moral disaster and a poor performance of our social and economic systems on the local and the global scale. But even worse, the efforts towards food security are thwarted by population growth and increasing scarcity of agricultural inputs. Notwithstanding efforts to improve food security governance (Pereira and Ruysenaar 2012) a common strategy towards global food security is agricultural intensification with increasing inputs of fertilisers, mainly nitrogen (N), potassium (K) and phosphorus (P) to increase yields (Pinstrup-Andersen and Pandya-Lorch 1998;Baldos and Hertel 2014; PinstrupAndersen 2014). While N fertilisers can be produced from atmospheric nitrogen (using energy), K and P fertilisers are extracted from depletable mines. While K is relatively abundant, P is more limited (Scholz and Wellmer 2013). Although the stocks of rock phosphate, the main source of mineral P fertilizers, are difficult to assess, there is a growing concern that mines might be depleted within a century (Steen 1998;Cordell et al. 2009;Smit et al. 2009;Keyzer 2010;Cordell and White 2015). Although other studies expect sufficient availability beyond the 21st century (van Vuuren et al. 2010;Koppelaar and Weikard 2013), the fact remains that rock phosphate is a depletable resource.1 This underlines the need to develop effective and low cost recycling options beyond the application of animal manure and composted organic wastes, the cheap options that are widely applied. Cordell et al. (2011) provide an over...

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Agroecology and the metropolitan biopolitics of food in Cape Town and Johannesburg

Kroll

2021

Urban Agric & Regnl Food Sys

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As urban food systems erode the ecological foundations of society, researchers advocate multi-level and adaptive governance to promote transitions toward sustainability.Agroecological discourse proposes transition to resilient, localized, and democratic city-region food systems, but neoliberal interpretations subvert radical aspirations.In the South African metropoles of Johannesburg and Cape Town, the governance terrain entails a concentrated industrial food system providing large, impoverished populations with unhealthy food derived from monocultures and transported along global value chains. Governing these urban food systems toward agroecological transition requires engagement with state governance mechanisms and rationalities. Considering state capabilities to promote agroecological transitions, the paper shows that fragmented institutional structures, policy patchworks, intersecting logics of control, and divergent ideologies constitute an ambiguous governance terrain posing major hurdles to transition. For metropolitan states to muster the will and assemble means for deep transformation of food systems and dominant state rationalities, a compelling alternative narrative must emerge. This requires persistent strategic engagement between officials and agroecological movements. To cultivate fertile political ground for seeds of deep, just transitions to take root, agroecology movements must grasp the nettle of metropolitan state capabilities.

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Moving from traditional government to new adaptive governance: the changing face of food security responses in South Africa

Abstract: Like many strategies in South Africa, the strategy document provides a useful outline of the problem, prescribes a wellintentioned means to respond and has, as will be discussed, suffered many challenges in implementation.

Cited by 69 publications

References 63 publications

The Future of the Food System: Cases Involving the Private Sector in South Africa

The Future of the Food System: Cases Involving the Private Sector in South Africa

Phosphorus recycling and food security in the long run: a conceptual modelling approach

Agroecology and the metropolitan biopolitics of food in Cape Town and Johannesburg

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