IndexIntroductionDiscussionConclusionReferencesIntroduction The future of food security in South Africa appears to be very diverse in terms of opportunities, but also appears to be largely overlooked in terms of importance. According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), food security is defined as “all people, at all times, have physical and affordable to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their needs." dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy lifestyle". An estimated 14 million people go to bed hungry every night in a nation with a population of around 57 million people, meaning around 24% of our population does not meet global food safety standards. The potential consequences of food insecurity on a population include hunger, malnutrition and many other negative effects, direct or indirect, on health and quality of life. Recent studies conducted by the United Nations and FAO have shown that the global population will exceed 9 billion by 2050. This would indicate that, combined with the growing demand by humans for foods high in protein, energy and nutrition, we may soon we face an enormous challenge in meeting such unprecedented supply and demand from farmers and food suppliers. This would mean that we should find new ways to address this challenge through agricultural systems that are sustainable and support greater access to food for all sectors of society. Key drivers of food insecurity include increased demand for food, climate change, availability of natural resources and lack of public and private investment in infrastructure as well as research and development in the agricultural sector, although in Ultimately the factors vary between countries/regions due to their situation. unique list of physical, economic and social circumstances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Discussion Due to South Africa's low socioeconomic outlook, most families spend a large portion of their income on food, meaning that something as common as a food Price increase would directly reduce the quality and quantity of food that these families can afford. This would have a disastrous impact on food security at the household level (Valdez and Foster, 2012). Due to South Africa's high dependence on the import of staple foods such as wheat, we have managed to increase our dependence on global grain supplies which can be directly harmful to household food security as we have created greater susceptibility to international prices as observed in 2007 – 08, in which production deficits occurred in several major exporting countries which led to the global number of undernourished people increasing by just under 100 million people. Food prices are directly related to agricultural management costs (machinery, transport, food processing, to name just a few), which means we are directly dependent on the price of fossil fuels, which globally account for 30% of energy consumption world total. This direct correlation between rising oil prices and South African commodity prices can be seen below in Table 1 which shows an average correlation of 0.74 across types ofproducts shown below which indicates a very strong relationship between the two. If we want to adequately address the issue at hand we should look at what alternative fuels could be used to run the necessary machinery, transportation and food processing. There has been very little government support for biofuel production as studies previously conducted through the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy (BFAP) (2007) and Letete (2009) have shown that the economic viability of biofuels from locally grown energy crops could don't be in favor. Studies have shown that even with economic incentives, the only crop that represents a viable alternative is sugarcane ethanol. This would mean that government and the private sector would have to do more to incentivize and help make renewable fuels more sustainable through cost subsidization. Another important factor in food insecurity is that of the link between water and food, which is highlighted primarily through water pricing. South Africa has historically underestimated its water supplies due to the abundance we are accustomed to, but we are rapidly approaching a point of water scarcity. What has become a reality amidst the El Nino we have recently experienced followed by a long period of drought has led to water prices over the past decade showing a similar trajectory to that of electricity in South Africa. Due to climate change and the fact that South Africa is known for being a water-challenged country, we will have to try to make better crop choices if we want to make food security a priority. Water scarcity also indirectly affects food production through energy production as food production is energy intensive, as is South Africa's consumption of water to produce energy. This is because South Africa is incredibly dependent on aging coal-fired power plants, which are heavily dependent on a constant water supply. From 2007 to 2008, electricity costs increased by more than 24%, which had a very profound impact on the agricultural sector. The primary agricultural sector consumes 3% of all electricity consumed in South Africa, which has increased by 3% annually since 1999. But as the figure below shows, related costs have increased by 20% since 2009. It is believed that l Rising energy prices will change the allocation and distribution of water (Ziberman et al, 2008). It is believed that rising energy prices will have the greatest impact on agricultural activities such as irrigation systems, groundwater pumping, as well as surface water diversion and irrigation, which will essentially make extraction more expensive, transportation and purification. Energy and water prices are expected to rise steadily in the future, given the enormous additional capacity planned to meet and substantially provide for the growing demand for electricity and transportation, coupled with the continued rise in volatile oil prices. Essentially these costs will fall on the taxpayer who will have to foot the bill and will have further negative implications on food security. These costs not only burden consumers but also farmers who essentially receive less money for the same production as input costs constantly reduce profit margins. Previous studies have also shown that retailers also struggle to manage production costs, as shown in the diagram below, due to highly inflated increases in water and electricity (600%) these retailers arestruggling to absorb these costs and are essentially unable to do so, and ultimately have to pass some of these costs onto the consumer or risk going out of business. South Africa is currently evaluating and managing its energy options and investigating all available technologies to encourage sustainable energy options. While solutions currently exist at the local and regional level, the problem has always been to scale those solutions to a departmental and theoretical level. This is where government will need to step in and ensure that a project of this scale receives the necessary budgetary requirements and level of management required to ensure it can succeed. For example, one of the many solutions is the Water Research Commission (WRC) which aims to integrate irrigation and nutrient supply. This project aims to reduce farmers' current use of water and fertilizer, but at the same time maximize the production of these farmers to ensure they meet the demands of a growing market population. One issue of growing concern is the popular response that appears to arise from the above issues is the mass migration of people to towns and cities in an attempt to avoid being trapped in situations so bad that they do not have sufficient water or energy to maintain a sustainable living standard which essentially translates into further expansion of informal neighborhoods which further translates into a series of challenges for people who are trying to avoid that very situation. A particular solution could be to achieve and maximize energy savings in the water supply sector. We currently do not have sufficient information on energy use within the water cycle in South Africa. Once this information is made available, we can look at energy efficiency improvements that will ultimately alleviate shortages, waste and unsustainable use. Another solution could come at a regional level and would be to implement a water trading system of which we have already seen the benefits through projects such as the Lesotho Highlands water project and the Nkomati project. We may need to look at these successful examples to engage more parties. like neighboring nations, namely Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. Further projects in this regard would only seek to improve the current situation in South Africa as such trade would be beneficial to all parties in the SADC region and would ultimately seek to eliminate hardship and poverty throughout the region. Conclusion In Conclusion Food inflation has come to pose a threat to food security in South Africa as it has in many other emerging markets around the world. As explained above, energy and water have a very close link to this threat and addressing these issues by passing costs on to consumers, producers and retailers essentially results in further negative implications for food security. If these problems are not addressed upfront instead of passed down, we will find ourselves in the same situation as many other third world economies. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now .Get a custom essay The government could also seek a more detailed understanding of the production cycle and food security relationships to guide future policy options such as developing additional infrastructure for improving agricultural production economically advantageous and effective transformation. So long as (2009), 10.1: 11-21.