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15.8 million South Africans lacked enough food in 2025

Published

The Department of Agriculture says household access to food, not national supply, is the main problem. The General Household Survey 2025 found 15.8 million people had inadequate to severely inadequate access to food, down from 16.3 million in 2023.

Thulile Dlamini, Acting Director for Subsistence Farming at the department, spoke during Food Security Month. She said poverty, unemployment, income inequality, hazards and food price volatility limit what households can get. The survey figure was 15.9 million in 2024.

The 2023 National Food and Nutrition Security Survey found that 63.5% of households were food insecure to some degree. Among children aged 0 to 5, stunting stood at 28.8% and wasting at 5.3%. Underweight stood at 7.8%, overweight at 25.3% and obesity at 32.1%.

Dlamini said the second National Food and Nutrition Security Plan has a weakness. In her words: "The centralised design of the plan restricts responsiveness to localised needs and emerging challenges".

The 2025/26 Budget Vote set aside R3.2 billion for food security and farmer support programmes. The SA-GAP certification programme has supported at least 740 producers and plans to reach 1 700 farmers in the coming year. Dlamini said below-normal summer rainfall is expected, so farmers should prioritise drought-tolerant and locally adapted cultivars.

Key facts

Who
Thulile Dlamini (Acting Director for Subsistence Farming, Department of Agriculture); Department of Agriculture (government department publishing the information); Statistics South Africa (conducts the General Household Survey); Department of Social Development (runs food banks and community feeding networks with partners)
What
In a SAnews feature on food security during Food Security Month, Department of Agriculture acting director Thulile Dlamini said household access to food, not national availability, is the main challenge, citing GHS 2025 figures and the 2023 National Food and Nutrition Security Survey.
When
25 October 2026
Where
South Africa
Status
Reported

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