An Overview

1. An Overview

2. DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security

3. 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” (JosetteSheeran, 2012) • Put fewer spoons on the table • Bake a bigger and better cakes • Teach everyone better table manners (adapted from Joel Cohen, 1995)

4. 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 (ArjunAppadurai1981) • 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)

5. 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)

6. The Food System Contestation

7. 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)

8. 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

9. The South African Situation Hunger Stats SA, 2003-2014 Poverty Stats SA, 2013, 2014

10. The South African Situation

11. Challenges in health & nutrition Diabetes prevalence Anthropometric status of children< 5 yrs PSLDS, 1993; NFCS, 1999; NIDS, 2008; SANHANES, 2012 Peer, N., Steyn, K., Lombard, C., Lambert, E. V., Vythilingum, B., & Levitt, N. S. (2012). NFCS, 1999; NFCS, 2005; SANHANES, 2012

12. Challenges in production & processing Concentration of farm enterprises Concentration of processing enterprises Stats SA, Agricultural Censuses, 1993, 1996, 2002, 2007 Stats SA, Manufacturing Census, 2008

13. 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

14. 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

15. 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

16. Our (wicked) research problem 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 South Africa does not have a sustainable food system to realise food security and nutrition for the poor

17. Ishikawa/Fishbone Diagram

18. Ishikawa/Fishbone Diagram

21. Right to food Participatory governance Regulations Measurement & monitoring Life course consequences Highly vulnerable groups Diet assessment tools Food in the informal economy Farm-worker livelihoods Agro-food value chains Urban self-provisioning Sustainable inputs (feed, water, soil Small-holder production Commercial production 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 Agro-food processing SMME’s Post-harvest wastage & loss Processing Indigenous crops

22. 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?

23. 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?

24. Building the plane while flying it

25. 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

26. Structure

27. 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)

28. 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

29. 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

30. 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(jtamri@gmail.com) • Read the manual at: http://www.uwc.ac.za/Faculties/EMS/COEFS • Follow on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/496797523765303/

31. 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

32. 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. MacroVuInc 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.

33. 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.