The purpose of the study was to determine the food security status of households in a South African township of Kwakwatsi. The research methodology was undertaken in two stages; firstly, a literature review was undertaken in order to provide a theoretical perspective on household food security. Secondly, an empirical study comprising of a household survey was undertaken. The household survey was conducted among 225 participants of Kwakwatsi Township in the Free State province (South Africa). Data was collected using a self-administrated-questionnaire.
The attainment of household food security is a major concern facing the world at large, including South Africa. South Africa is classified as a middle income country with large inequalities and absolute poverty. Although South Africa is nationally self-sufficient in food supply, many households are vulnerable to food insecurity. Natural disasters, population growth, low agricultural development, food prices, income inequalities, poverty and health issues are the main causes of household food insecurity in the world.
The method of data analysis was two-fold: firstly, the Household Food Insecurity Access scale (HFIAS) developed by the USAID was used to determine the food security status of households in Kwakwatsi. Secondly, a logit regression model was used to estimate the socio-economic and demographic variables that determine the food security status of households. According to the HFIAS classification measure, approximately 51.1% of households were categorised as food secure, 8.9% as mildly food insecure and 10.7% as moderately food insecure and 29.3% as severely food insecure. Food insecurity was mostly associated with female-headed households than male-headed households.
The results of the regression analysis suggest that gender, household size, marital status and household income influence household food security. The probability of food security decreases if household is headed by a female. Larger household sizes experience less food security because they consume more food with fewer resources. Households headed by people who are not married have a higher chance of being food secure than those of married couples, this is because married couples have larger household sizes compared to unmarried household heads. Household income was the most significant predictor of household food security and was found to be positively related to household food security.
The study recommends that agricultural education be promoted in the study area to encourage people to engage in farming/gardening as a source of generating extra income, especially in female-headed households.