South Africa

COVID-19 Pandemic Precarity and Urban Food Insecurity: Zimbabwean, Somali, and DRC Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa

Although a growing body of literature addresses the relationship between migration and food security, the specific interactions between pre-pandemic vulnerabilities, pandemic responses, and post-pandemic food access challenges among migrants remain underexplored. This research brief seeks to address this gap by examining the experiences of migrants in Cape Town. Drawing on data collected in 2023 from […]

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Considering the Migration and Food Security Nexus in African Cities

International migration and food security are still treated as separate policy and research domains, yet they are deeply intertwined in the African urban context. This paper unbundles the nexus between migration and urban food security by examining how migrants and refugees navigate food systems, cope with vulnerabilities, and deploy resilience strategies to mitigate food insecurity.

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Resilience and Adaptation: Struggles to Access Urban Food During the COVID-19 Pandemic by Zimbabwean, Somali and DRC Migrants in Cape Town

This research brief examines how the vulnerable circumstances and precarious conditions of African migrants in South Africa were exacerbated during the pandemic. The study is based on data from a survey of 844 migrants and refugees and 32 in-depth interviews conducted in 2023 in Cape Town. The findings presented here underscore the urgent need for

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Digital Technologies and Food Remitting by Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted traditional remittance channels, particularly for Zimbabwean migrants in South Africa who relied on informal networks to send food and other essential goods back home. The closure of borders, lockdowns, and mobility restrictions disrupted these informal networks, accelerating the adoption of digital platforms for food remittances. This policy brief explores the

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Translocal Households, Rural-Urban Links and Migrant Food Security in South Africa

This paper revisits the issue of rural-urban links in post-apartheid South Africa, challenging the assumption that the end of apartheid would lead to rapid urbanization and the dissolution of circular migration. Despite the abolition of influx controls and the significant increase in the urban population from 33% in 1980 to 55% in 2011 among black

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Uncovering International Migration and Remittance Patterns in Southern Africa During COVID-19: Compelling Evidence from Cape Town, South Africa

The research brief examines the remitting patterns of African migrants in South Africa and shows that the pandemic and post-pandemic precarity of African migrants impacted their remitting behaviour. The brief is based on research from surveys and in-depth interviews conducted in 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa, focused on African migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers

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Informal Pandemic Precarity and Migrant Food Enterprise in South Africa During COVID-19

In focusing on informal pandemic precarity in South Africa, this paper has three main objectives. First, it shows why the South African government’s policy response to COVID-19 increased the precarity of migrant enterprise in the urban informal sector. Second, drawing on data from our survey of informal food sector enterprises in the city of Cape

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Pandemic Precarity and Food Insecurity Among Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa

This policy brief highlights the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Zimbabwean migrants living in South Africa, with a particular focus on food insecurity and economic precarity. The pandemic exacerbated existing vulnerabilities within the migrant community, many of whom rely on informal, low-wage labour sectors for their livelihoods. The survey conducted in 2021 among

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Experimental Urban Commons?: Re-examining Urban Community Food Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa

Contemporary literature on urban agriculture often analyses urban community gardens as ‘existing’ commons with the capacity to counter neoliberal urban development and resource management practices. However, the existing literature on ‘political gardening’ generally focuses on cities in North America and Europe, despite the prevalence of urban community gardens and neoliberal planning across other regions, including

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Urban Community Gardens in Cape Town, South Africa: Navigating Land Access and Land Tenure Security

Land tenure security continues to pose a significant challenge to the sustainability of urban community gardens in global South cities. However, a few studies have explored the mechanisms that urban gardeners employ to facilitate land access and variations in land tenure security arrangements made with land owners in South African cities. This paper employs a

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