Rising food prices, unemployment, and climate change are compounding the Eastern Cape’s food security problem. Nonceba Kontsiwe, MEC for agriculture in the province, makes a passionate case for strengthening local food systems, revitalising rural economies, and safeguarding the future of vulnerable communities.
The department of agriculture has sleepless nights due to food insecurity in the province. We should intensify efforts to help rural communities produce and increase access to affordable and nutritious food.
Our province has high numbers of malnutrition because South Africa is regarded as a food-insecure country.
The high cost of living and unemployment are the major drivers of household food insecurity, which leads to child malnutrition as reported by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) and the National Food and Nutrition Security Survey (NFNSS).
The NFNSS showed that 20% of households in the province are severely food insecure.
The districts affected by severe food insecurity are Amathole 24%, Sarah Baartman 24%, Alfred Nzo 23%, Nelson Mandela Metro 20%, Buffalo City Metro 19%, OR Tambo 17%, Chris Hani 17%, and Joe Gqabi 15%.
Furthermore, Cheteni and others, in 2020, in our household dietary diversity study conducted by the University of Fort Hare (UFH), revealed that 61% of households in the province are consuming a diet of low diversity, that is, carbohydrate-rich with less protein.
Provincial plan for food security
To address this, a Provincial Food and Nutrition Security Plan has been developed to galvanise all sectors of society to work collectively, to harness community resources in addressing food security.
Our Provincial Food and Nutrition Security Plan seeks to increase food production through community-led partnerships.
This will lead to a lower cost of food, thereby making it affordable to vulnerable groups such as the unemployed, youth, pensioners, and social grant recipients.
Local production of a variety of agricultural produce is critical, as it will enable most people to access food products locally and save on transport costs, which contribute to the high cost of living.
In 2024/25, we initiated a partnership with the national department to support 30 000 vulnerable households with production packs through Ilima/Letsema, and an additional 12 000 households were supported through the Presidential Employment Stimulus (PES) Programme.
Smart farming projects
Embracing innovation and technology is essential for reducing production costs and mitigating the impact of climate change.
The department implemented a smart agriculture project to improve food production and accessibility in all six districts by establishing self-sustaining agricultural ecosystems.
A total of 27 tunnels with smart boxes were installed in each district, benefitting 21 youth farmers, nine adult women, and three adult men.
This initiative enabled year-round cultivation in a controlled environment, leading to higher crop yields and fostering entrepreneurship, community education, and environmental preservation.
We have committed to developing and establishing local food hubs, where the government will support the massive cultivation of land, targeting high-potential arable areas such as irrigated lands.
The community food production scheme has been initiated to support communities in putting their land into production at the required scale, enabling them to store, process, package, and sell surplus produce.
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Province-wide agricultural initiative
Let’s go back to the basics where we plough each arable land in our villages together, and we pledge all those who are interested to participate in the programmes of reviving food security through iLima to start now.
According to tradition, no one should die of hunger while there are people, and we should use our land to produce more food.
We will anchor our food production scheme on broad-based partnerships with communities that will aggregate a minimum of 20 – 100 gardens within a 5km radius to be put under production through Ilima community food production.
This programme is targeting an increase in food production at community level, focusing on grains, vegetables, poultry, piggery, beekeeping, and other commodities.
The department will provide mechanisation, production inputs, equipment, and infrastructure such as irrigation systems, nurseries, and storage facilities to support this intervention comprehensively.
The success of this initiative will require mutually beneficial partnerships, shared responsibility and minimum contributions by all participants, and a strong commitment from communities to work the land.
In the 2025/26 fiscal year, the department has allocated a budget of R60 million to implement this programme.
The rollout of this programme will be piloted in phases, allowing us to benchmark and document best practices that will be shared across the province.
Our commitment to improving the livelihoods of rural communities through the provision of safe, clean drinking water and food production remains steadfast.
We plan to develop six natural springs across the province, with one in each district: Alfred Nzo, Chris Hani, Joe Gqabi, and OR Tambo, and two in Amathole.
Additionally, we will undertake the rehabilitation of a windmill in Malangazana village in Enoch Mgijima Local Municipality.
In the previous year, we completed 10 spring water projects in five districts: Alfred Nzo (2), Amathole (2), Chris Hani (2), Joe Gqabi (2), and OR Tambo (2), where a total of 234 taps were installed in 10 villages, benefiting 1,891 households and creating 496 jobs.
- Nonceba Kontsiwe is the MEC for agriculture in the Eastern Cape. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Food For Mzansi.
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