Applications are invited for a post-doctoral research fellowship on the bio-economy, beginning January 2019. The position forms part of the SARChI Research Chair held by A/Professor Rachel Wynberg. We seek a suitably qualified scholar to join a dynamic and growing team of researchers in exploring critical perspectives relating to...
Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of urbanization in the world, exacerbating issues of food and nutrition security and resulting, at least in part, in a worrying trend of increased incidences of non-communicable diseases. With their relative lack of space and infrastructure, access to adequate and...
Location: South Africa and the Netherlands Start: September 2018 The Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) seeks applications for a postdoctoral fellowship on African city food systems, beginning early September 2018. The postdoc will be based in South Africa for approximately 75%...
Three students from the USA, Germany and Vietnam, recently completed a Masters Thesis which looks at ways that social labs like the Southern Africa Food Lab are and could be evaluated. It was written as part of the Master´s program “Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability”, a...
When corporate staff from the South African finance sector arrived at Spier wine farm and were loaded into the back tray of Farmer Angus’ giant farm truck, they immediately knew they were in for something different. On 30 January 2018 the Food Lab facilitated a...
The Southern Africa Food Lab, in partnership with The Presidency, recently hosted a dialogue to foster coherence in South Africa food security policy. The dialogue was attended by 30 government officials and academics including representatives from DPME, DAFF, DCE, GDE, DBE, DEA, The Department of...
Ralph Hamann, Research Director at UCT’s Graduate School of Business and a member of the Southern Africa Food Lab’s advisory board, recently returned from a Harvard Workshop on Cross-Sector Innovation where he presented a paper based on the experiences of the Food Lab. “Through an indepth analysis...
The Southern Africa Food Lab’s work addressing smallholder development through dialogue and social innovation in the SA food system has been recognized by the UN’s 10-year framework of programmes (10YFP) on sustainable consumption and production patterns within their Sustainable Food Systems Programme. The project is now...
The importance of nutrition in development is undisputed, and yet it is only in recent years that it has been taken seriously. Why is this? Professor Sheryl Hendricks recently explored this question in the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa’s Tomlinson Commemorative Lecture at the University...
The identification of the source of the Listeriosis outbreak which has swept through the nation killing 180 people to date, has seen a wide-scale recall of polony, Russians and viennas over the past week. The outbreak, which the World Health Organization is calling the largest...
by Mervyn Abrahams Since the announcement of the increase of VAT from 14% to 15%, many politicians, economists and other ‘experts’ have argued that working class households are protected from the negative impact of the increase in VAT because certain foods are zero-rated. We would have...
During December, the Food Lab participated in a national seed dialogue and celebration hosted by the African Centre for Biodiversity at Constitution Hill. The purpose of the event was to celebrate the role of smallholder farmers in maintaining and nurturing seed and life in South Africa...
WWF-SA’s Resource Smart Food Initiative explores multiple points of intervention in the food system to determine actions that could shift the system onto a more sustainable trajectory. As a partner in the initiative, the Southern Africa Food Lab is assisting with the design and facilitation...
Later this month, the Southern Africa Food Lab will host thought leaders from the finance sector, insurance and investment on a learning journey regarding the nation’s future food system. The event, which is funded by the Green Trust and WWF-SA’s Smart Food Initiative, aims to build...
Increasingly, businesses, especially those in the food industry, are being called upon to help transform the food system to work better for nutrition. A key question being asked of organisations like SPAR is how do we make foods rich in nutrients more affordable and available,...
by Amy Giliam Climate change is identified as one of the major trends influencing change in the 21st century. In South Africa, climate change is and will continue to contribute to the severity and frequency of drought, flood events, and changes in temperatures and rainfall patterns....
This week the Southern Africa Food Lab hosted an Agroecology Awareness innovation debrief along with 17 Shaft Education & Conference Centre at the Hoedspruit Hub in the Mopani district, Limpopo. We met with 14 other organisations and 18 agroecology trainers. We discussed the future of this...
Dr Scott Drimie South Africa has a serious health problem. Non-communicable (NCDs) or lifestyle diseases are among the top causes of death in the country (at around 40%) and are responsible for considerable premature mortality with more than a third of NCD-related deaths occurring before the...
by OWEN SKAE We hear constant talk about job creation, food security and a more equitable society. Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies speaks about improving and shortening regional value chains to bring down the cost of doing business and the cost of food, but little...
Over the past two decades, South Africa has urbanized at a rapid pace as people move towards the cities in search of work opportunities and better living conditions, says Scott Drimie. This has had a real impact on our health. According to StatsSA, more than 70%...