Thread by @PLAASuwc

PLAAS documentary "Desperate Times: COVID, inequality and resilience in South Africa's food system" airing now on
@Newzroom405

Channel 405 at 19.00 CAT (SA time)
@Ayandah_madlala

@RuthHallPLAAS

@AFRAKZN

@MasifundiseDT

@UWCEMSFACULTY

@UWConline

Small-scale black farmers were no long able to sell their produce to schools for their feeding systems when schools were closed under hard lockdown.

The government failed to consult with these farmers on their needs before it produced its mitigation measures.

Meanwhile street traders struggled to make a living under the continual threat of arrest - and had to dig into their savings to keep their businesses going.

As consumer incomes fell, profits were squeezed and cash shortages affected distribution in the informal food system.

Middle traders buying wholesale from fresh produce markets and selling to local street traders increasingly turned to the online market and sold produce directly to consumers in a bid to protect their margins.

Fishing communities lost incomes under lockdown.

Once fisher were declared 'essential workers' they went to see again - but social distancing meant crew numbers were limited.

Families suffered when school feeding programmes were closed.

Large fish processors benefited at the expense of the small fishers - able to buy up over-supplies at fish at low prices and holding them until prices rose again.

Ancient practices of smoking and drying fish are disappearing under pressure from the large processing firms.

Word is drying up for fish salters on R22 an hour.

Families went hungry as increasing numbers of small-scale fishers and fish processors struggled to find work in a shrinking market under Covid-19.

The government should focus on supporting small-scale farmers and fishers to create a more just food system.

A food system that can provide more jobs and provide affordable food to more people.

Covid-19 regulations discriminated against parts of the food system.

The informal sector of the food system was effectively shut down under Covid-19 and has still not recovered.

Small-scale traders lost livelihoods and continue to be harassed by the authorities, says Prof Ruth Hall.

Many small-scale farmers lost incomes as their sales to school feeding schemes fell away, says Ayanda Madlala.

At a policy level it is important to understand the crucial role that the informal sector plays in providing affordable food and livelihoods.

For example, as much as R8.5 billion of fresh produce goes onto the streets in Joburg through the informal sector each year.

But under official food relief programmes, the government prefers the big corporate players not the small-scale producers and traders.

Thus, government interventions can reinforce inequality in the food system in times of crisis, says Prof Hall.

Also the government's interventions were inappropriate - they subsidised inputs, for example, when what the small farmers really needed was access to markets for the food that they had already produced.

How can future crises be managed in a more equitable way? ask Cathy Mohlalana

Small-scale fishers need improved access to cold storage and market areas, says Prof Moenieba Isaacs.

Government should be procuring food for feeding schemes, etc from small-scale fishers, says Prof Isaacs.

Small-scale farmers said they needed access to more land to meet rising demand for food among local communities as lockdown prevented people from going into town, says researcher Ayanda Madlala.

Local farmers and traders said that they were not provided from good information on how to acquire permits under lockdown.

Local small-scale farmers also expressed a need for secure, effective storage so that produce could be kept properly and not left to rot in fields in times of crisis.

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