Verification of the existence of food security projects in Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

Food Security Projects initiated by the government of South Africa in order to help alleviate poverty within Limpopo Province have proved unsustainable and difficult to provide for what they were mandated to provide to the satisfaction of the government, which is to create jobs and alleviate poverty. The purpose of this study is to verify the existence of food security projects in Limpopo province of South Africa. The study was conducted in all the five districts of Limpopo Province, namely; Mopani, Vhembe, Capricorn, Sekhukhune, and Waterberg. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews which were administered to one official from the Provincial Department of Health and Social Development, one official from the Department of Agriculture and five tribal council representatives who represented all the tribal authorities at district level and are knowledgeable about developmental issues. Document analysis was also conducted at the two provincial departments. The coded data was then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS version 22). Frequency tables and charts were computed on a computer spreadsheet. The findings of this Study revealed that there are 347 food security projects in Limpopo Province with 338 declared functional. This Study will provide policy makers with policy directives on how a database of food security projects can be kept so that they can be known.

Keywords: Food Security projects; Poverty alleviation; Functional, Dysfunctional