Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian

Food Security

latest news & developments

Food relief, fuel squeeze

South Africa's food inflation ticked up modestly in August after months of decline, but intensifying fuel price pressures and potential El Niño drought risks threaten to squeeze…

Fanny Phelta. Image: Supplied/Facebook

AgriSETA targets agricultural skills to tackle youth unemployment and food insecurity

AgriSETA CEO Fanny Phetla outlines how targeted agricultural education, digital farming skills and youth-focused business incubators can address South Africa's unemployment and…

AGRA President Alice Ruhweza

Africa's Green Revolution failed to deliver promised gains, new assessment finds

A new assessment by researcher Timothy Wise reveals that despite 20 years of efforts and massive funding, the Green Revolution model in Africa has failed to achieve its…

Foot-and-Mouth Disease: South Africa's quiet business crisis

Foot-and-Mouth Disease is not just a farming issue; it's a profound South African crisis affecting food security, farmers, and the vital informal trading sector, with…

Pale mine dust coats the soil in Snake Park

Soil biodiversity: The hidden life beneath our feet

While South Africa's attention is on water shortages and climate change, scientists warn of a critical soil degradation crisis. Over 70% of the country's land is affected,…

ActionSA, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the uMkhonto weSizwe party (MKP) joined the group March on March in a march through central Durban on 26 March 2026. Photo: Action SA

While South Africa debates borders, it is losing its breadbasket

South Africa is deeply engrossed in the debate over illegal immigration, but this article argues that a larger economic transformation, particularly concerning the nation's vital…

Food security: 'Children who are healthier and better educated are more likely to complete school, access employment opportunities and become economically productive adults,' says Dr Matshidiso Sello. Photo: File

Growing hunger in Gauteng's classrooms

While fewer children attending low-income schools in Gauteng are suffering from the long-term effects of chronic malnutrition, many more are going hungry in the short term as…

Early warning system on Lake Victoria proves AI’s potential to prevent fish kills

Fish farmers at Dunga Beach, Kenya, faced constant dread from sudden mass fish deaths in Lake Victoria. Now, an AI-powered underwater monitoring system provides early warnings,…

The brilliance of Iran’s governance structure

The sheer brilliance of Iran’s three-tiered governance structure

A scene from the floods that killed more than 450 people in KwaZulu-Natal in April 2022 shows the damage. (Delwyn Verasamy)

Study: Linking climate change to health doubles support for public action

New research shows that health-based climate messaging significantly increases public support for government action, especially in South Africa where concern over children and…

From Doringbaai to Port Nolloth, West Coast communities are pushing back against mining and offshore oil and gas expansion.  (Liezl Human/Groundup)

‘No one asked us’: West Coast fishers oppose offshore oil and gas development

From Doringbaai to Port Nolloth, West Coast communities are pushing back against mining and offshore oil and gas expansion. Residents, activists and fishers say consultation…

Roughly 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes through the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint now under strain.

Iran war triggers global shockwaves across energy, food and finance systems, analysts warn

The US-Israel war on Iran is sending shockwaves through global energy, food and financial systems, exposing deep structural vulnerabilities in the world economy, according to the…

In recent years, research Wright and colleagues led has highlighted how prolonged heat exposure places outdoor workers, children, older people and low-income communities at increased risk of dehydration, heat stress, respiratory illness and other adverse health outcomes. The risks are expected to intensify as temperatures continue to rise. (Envato Elements)

Extreme heat is becoming Southern Africa’s defining climate and health threat, report warns

Extreme heat is no longer a future problem. A major new report warns it is intensifying inequality, illness and climate vulnerability across Southern Africa and the worst-hit are…

One in every five girls across sub-Saharan Africa has experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18 . Photo: File

Supporting adolescent girls advances us all this International Women’s Day

One in every five girls across sub-Saharan Africa has experienced rape or sexual assault before turning 18

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi.

Foot-in-Mouth Disease: How Lesufi’s populist politics costs ANC in Gauteng

Lesufi’s remark about resorting to hotel showers during water shortages was not an isolated lapse of judgment but a revealing window into this broader political environment