Food Insecurity in Informal Settlements in Lilongwe Malawi

2017-09-26 Social Science

Author : Chilanga, Emmanuel
Release : 2017-09-26
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 247/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Food Insecurity in Informal Settlements in Lilongwe Malawi by : Chilanga, Emmanuel

Download or read book Food Insecurity in Informal Settlements in Lilongwe Malawi written by Chilanga, Emmanuel. This book was released on 2017-09-26. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Although there is widespread food availability in urban areas across the Global South, it is not correlated with universal access to adequate amounts of nutritious foods. This report is based on a household survey conducted in 2015 in six low-income informal areas in Malawi’s capital city, where three-quarters of the population live in informal settlements. Understanding the dimensions of household food insecurity in these neighbourhoods is critical to sustainable and inclusive growth in Lilongwe. The survey findings provide a complementary perspective to the 2008 AFSUN survey conducted in Blantyre, which suggested a level of food security in urban Malawi that was probably more typical of peri-urban areas where many people farm. Given that informal settlements house most of Malawi’s urban residents, the Lilongwe research presents a serious public policy challenge for the country’s leaders. Poverty is a profound problem in Malawi’s rapidly expanding cities. Of particular concern is the poor quality of diets among residents of informal settlements. Precarity of income, reflected in the survey findings of frequent purchasing of staple foods and the need for food sellers to extend credit, appears to be a key driver of food insecurity in these communities. Economically inclusive growth, with better prospects for stable employment and protection for informal-sector workers, appears to be the surest route to improved urban food security in Malawi.

The State of Food Insecurity in Blantyre City, Malawi

2016-10-17 Social Science

Author : Mvula, Peter
Release : 2016-10-17
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 093/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The State of Food Insecurity in Blantyre City, Malawi by : Mvula, Peter

Download or read book The State of Food Insecurity in Blantyre City, Malawi written by Mvula, Peter. This book was released on 2016-10-17. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Chronic food insecurity is considered to be one of the most important challenges facing the people and government of Malawi. Most attention tends to be given to the rural areas where the majority of the population live and where the prevalence of food insecurity is highest. However, Malawi is urbanizing at a rapid rate and those who move to the cities do not automatically become food secure. Urban food insecurity is likely to increase and therefore it is important for policy-makers to begin to think about this issue. AFSUN’s study of food insecurity in the city of Blantyre, Malawi’s industrial hub, formed part of its baseline survey of 11 Southern African cities. The study established that household dietary diversity is very low with most consuming a monotonous diet dominated by grain foods, especially maize. While the dependence on maize and its availability on the market means that absolute levels of food insecurity are lower here than in many other cities surveyed by AFSUN, there is also a clear seasonality to food security that coincides with the rural agricultural cycle. When maize prices rise, households immediately feel the pinch and levels of insecurity rise. Female-centred households, households with large family sizes, households that have lost a breadwinner through death, households with a sick member, and low-income households are more food insecure than the rest.

Food Security in Africa's Secondary cities

2018-04-29 Social Science

Author : Liam Riley
Release : 2018-04-29
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 352/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Food Security in Africa's Secondary cities by : Liam Riley

Download or read book Food Security in Africa's Secondary cities written by Liam Riley. This book was released on 2018-04-29. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report marks the first stage of AFSUNs goal of expanding knowledge about urban food systems and experiences of household food insecurity in secondary African cities. It contributes to an understanding of poverty and sustainability in Mzuzu, Malawi, through the lens of household food security. The focus on food as an urban issue not only speaks to the development challenges presented by urbanization, but it also brings a fresh perspective to debates about food security in Malawi. The urban setting highlights the changing food system in Malawi where people in rural and urban areas are increasingly reliant on cash income to buy food. The reports key findings include that the most vulner- able households are those without a formal wage income, households headed by older people, especially older women, and households that are not able to produce food in the rural areas. The research also shows that the food system is dynamic and diverse, with households accessing food from a variety of formal and informal food sources and relying on rural-urban linkages for urban survival. Urban and rural agriculture are important features of the food system, but there is little evidence that these are the self-help responses to poverty that advocates for urban agriculture in Africa sometimes imply.

Food Security in Africa's Secondary Cities: No

2019-03-21 Social Science

Author : Ndeyapo Nickanor
Release : 2019-03-21
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 409/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis Food Security in Africa's Secondary Cities: No by : Ndeyapo Nickanor

Download or read book Food Security in Africa's Secondary Cities: No written by Ndeyapo Nickanor. This book was released on 2019-03-21. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the first research report to examine the nature and drivers of food insecurity in the northern Namibian towns of Oshakati, Ongwediva, and Ondangwa. As well as forming part of a new body of research on secondary urbanization and food security in Africa, the report makes systematic comparisons between the food security situation in this urban corridor and the much larger capital city of Windhoek. A major characteristic of urbanization in Namibia is the perpetuation of rural-urban linkages through informal rural-to-urban food remittances. This survey found that 55% of households in the three towns receive food from relatives in rural areas. Urban households also farm in nearby rural areas and incorporate that agricultural produce into their diets. The survey showed that over 90% of households in the three towns patronize supermarkets, which is a figure far higher than for any other food source. Overall, food security is better in Namibias northern towns than in Windhoek, where levels of food insecurity are particularly high. However, just because the food insecurity situation is less critical in the north, the majority of households in the urban corridor are not food secure. Like Windhoek, these towns also have considerable income and food security inequality, with households in the informal settlements at greatest risk of chronic food insecurity.

The Supermarket Revolution and Food Security in Namibia

2017-12-17 Social Science

Author : Ndeyapo Nickanor
Release : 2017-12-17
Genre : Social Science
Kind : eBook
Book Rating : 301/5 ( reviews)

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Book Synopsis The Supermarket Revolution and Food Security in Namibia by : Ndeyapo Nickanor

Download or read book The Supermarket Revolution and Food Security in Namibia written by Ndeyapo Nickanor. This book was released on 2017-12-17. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The surprisingly high rate of supermarket patronage in low-income areas of Windhoek, Namibias capital and largest city, is at odds with conventional wisdom that supermarkets in African cities are primarily patronized by middle and high-income residents and therefore target their neighbourhoods. What is happening in Namibia and other Southern African countries that make supermarkets so much more accessible to the urban poor? What are they buying at supermarkets and how frequently do they shop there? Further, what is the impact of supermarket expansion on informal food vendors? This report, which presents the findings from the South African Supermarkets in Growing African Cities project research in 2016-2017 in Windhoek, looks at the evidence and tries to answer these questions and others. The research and policy debate on the relationship between the supermarket revo- lution and food security is also discussed. Here, the issues include whether supermarket supply chains and procurement practices miti- gate rural food insecurity through providing new market opportunities for smallholder farmers; the impact of supermarkets on the food security and consumption patterns of residents of African cities; and the relationship between supermarket expansion and governance of the food system, particularly at the local level.

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