Gwacela Mbalenhle, Cleopas Ngidi Mjabuliseni Simon, Hlatshwayo Simphiwe Innocentia, Ojo Temitope Oluwaseun
Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa.
Centre for Transformative Agricultural and Food Systems, School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, Pietermaritzburg 3201, South Africa.
Sustainability. 2024 Mar 19;16(6):2525. doi: 10.3390/su16062525.
Addressing food security is one of the national priorities in South Africa, enshrined under the country's constitution, yet there is a growing percentage of households struggling to meet their food requirements. Food insecurity and malnutrition remain severe problems in rural communities and can be addressed through home gardening. This study aimed to assess the contributions of home gardens to food security in Limpopo Province. This study employed a quantitative research methodology. A total of 2043 rural households were selected using multistage stratified random sampling. The Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) was used to measure household food insecurity levels of home garden participants. Results showed that 46% of participants were food secure, 24% were severely food insecure, 17% were moderately food insecure and 13% were mildly food insecure. The results from the endogenous switching Poisson regression model showed that gender, household size, wage/salary, access to land, agriculture-related assistance and market distance had a positive influence on household food security of home garden participants. On the other hand, employment status and receiving any social relief had a negative association with household food security of home garden participants. The results also showed that employment status had a positive influence on the food security of home garden non-participants, while education, access to land, wage/salary and age had a negative influence. The results from average treatment effects (ATEs) showed that households that participated in home garden production had a negative and significant (-value < 0.05) impact on household food insecurity. This study concludes that involvement in home gardening improves food security. Household food security can be enhanced through agricultural training and skills enhancement directed at increasing participation in home gardening in rural areas, thus addressing income and food security challenges. Agricultural education needs to be introduced and facilitated at school levels so that an understanding of food systems, nutrition and food security can be attained from younger age groups.
解决粮食安全问题是南非的国家优先事项之一，已载入该国宪法，但仍有越来越多的家庭难以满足其粮食需求。粮食不安全和营养不良在农村社区仍然是严重问题，可以通过家庭园艺来解决。本研究旨在评估家庭菜园对林波波省粮食安全的贡献。本研究采用了定量研究方法。使用多阶段分层随机抽样共选取了2043户农村家庭。家庭粮食不安全获取量表（HFIAS）用于衡量家庭菜园参与者的家庭粮食不安全水平。结果显示，46%的参与者粮食安全，24%的参与者粮食严重不安全，17%的参与者粮食中度不安全，13%的参与者粮食轻度不安全。内生转换泊松回归模型的结果表明，性别、家庭规模、工资/薪水、土地获取、农业相关援助和市场距离对家庭菜园参与者的家庭粮食安全有积极影响。另一方面，就业状况和接受任何社会救济与家庭菜园参与者的家庭粮食安全呈负相关。结果还表明，就业状况对非家庭菜园参与者的粮食安全有积极影响，而教育、土地获取、工资/薪水和年龄则有负面影响。平均处理效应（ATEs）的结果表明，参与家庭菜园生产的家庭对家庭粮食不安全有负面且显著（p值<0.05）的影响。本研究得出结论，参与家庭园艺可改善粮食安全。可以通过开展农业培训和提高技能来增强家庭粮食安全，这些培训和技能旨在增加农村地区对家庭园艺的参与，从而应对收入和粮食安全挑战。需要在学校层面引入并推动农业教育，以便从较年轻的年龄组开始就能够理解粮食系统、营养和粮食安全。
