South Africa

Addressing Urban Food Security Challenges for South-South Migrants

This policy brief examines the growing phenomenon of South-South migration, with a focus on the challenges of urban food security faced by migrants moving from one Global South country to urban areas in another. South-South migration has become increasingly significant, yet it remains under-researched, especially regarding the food insecurity that many migrants face in their […]

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South Africa at War: Food Insecurity, Migrant Exclusion and COVID-19 Policies

The policy audit critically examines the South African government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly focusing on the militaristic enforcement of lockdowns and the resulting food insecurity and exclusion of migrant populations. The report aims to inform policy-makers about the impacts of these policies and provide recommendations for crisis management. On 27 March 2020, South

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Digital Disruptions in the South Africa–Zimbabwe Remittance Corridor During COVID-19

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on migrant remittances has generated a great deal of confusion and debate. This article aims to test three conflicting global and local narratives about the relationship between the pandemic and remittance flows in the South Africa–Zimbabwe remittance corridor. We refer to these as remittance pessimism, remittance resilience and remittance

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Responses to COVID-19 by Internal Migrants in South African Cities

This paper explores the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on internal migrants in the urban centres of Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. Focusing on the socio-economic and livelihood challenges faced by this population, the research utilizes a survey conducted in 2023 to investigate how the pandemic exacerbated existing vulnerabilities. Results highlight significant disruptions in employment,

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Enforcement and Exclusion: COVID-19 Policies, Urban Migrants, and Food Insecurity in Pandemic South Africa

On March 5th, 2020, South Africa recorded its first official case of COVID-19 when a South African tourist returning from a holiday in northern Italy tested positive. The number of excess deaths is now over 300,000. The policy response to the pandemic is widely regarded as amongst the most draconian in Africa. In 2020, the

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Urban Transformation, African Migrants and the Informal Food System in Cape Town

This study will make a significant contribution to the growing literature on migration and food security nexus by focusing on the contribution of migrant women food vendors to the informal food system in Cape Town. In addition,  the study will provide new empirical and conceptual insights into the role of informal food vending in urban

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Pandemic Precarity, Crisis-Living, and Food Insecurity: Female Zimbabwean Migrants in South Africa

Sujata Ramachandran, Jonathan Crush, Godfrey Tawodzera & Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango  •  Our chapter examines the neglected connections between migration, gender, and food security in the context of the unfolding Covid-19 pandemic, using the case study of female-headed Zimbabwean migrant households in South Africa. We draw on the concept of “migrant pandemic precarity” to highlight the

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Food Resilience and Urban Gardener Networks in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Can We Learn from the Experience of the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South Africa?

This paper draws on the results of a mixed-methods study that investigates whether urban gardener networks in a low-income neighbourhood in Cape Town are contributing to urban agriculture and food resilience. The findings reveal that the urban gardeners are organised into largely fragmented informal networks whose primary goal is to enhance food resilience. While these

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Growing and Eating Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Farmers’ Perspectives on Local Food System Resilience to Shocks in Southern Africa and Indonesia

The COVID-19 outbreak forced governments to make decisions that had adverse effects on local food systems and supply chains. As a result, many small-scale food producers faced difficulties growing, harvesting, and selling their goods. This participatory research examines local small-scale farmers’ challenges as farmers but also as consumers and their coping strategies during the month

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Informal Cross-Border Traders and Food Trade during the Pandemic in Zimbabwe

The collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy in the 2000s resulted in the country relying largely on food imports from other countries, especially from South Africa. Informal cross-border traders have become crucial players in the country’s food economy, playing an important role in the importation of food as well as its retail across the country. Cross-border trading

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