FOOD SECURITY FRAGILITY IN A MINING-DEPENDENT TOWN A SNAPSHOT OF POSTMASBURG IN THE NORTHERN CAPE

The report finds that Postmasburg experienced severe food insecurity exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown, with significant drops in formal and informal employment and a high dependency on social grants. It highlights that 60% of surveyed households were below the food poverty line even before the pandemic, and that food aid distribution was insufficient and plagued by a lack of transparency.

• Postmasburg's population is disproportionately vulnerable to food insecurity due to a higher-than-average household size (4.4 persons after lockdown compared to the national 3.4) and a high dependency ratio of 73, compared to the national average of 52.
• The COVID-19 lockdown caused a sharp decline in employment and income: formal employment fell by 20%, informal sector income generation plunged by 62%, and aggregate monthly household incomes decreased by 21%.
• Food poverty was prevalent before the pandemic, with an estimated 60% of surveyed households falling below the 2020 StatsSA Food Poverty Line of R599.60 per person per month prior to lockdown.
• There is an increasing reliance on social grants, which rose from 15% of aggregate income before lockdown to 33% after temporary increases. However, the return of these grants to pre-lockdown levels is expected to worsen the aggregate household income fall from 21% to 36.4%.
• Food aid has been insufficient and poorly managed; only 27.5% of surveyed households received a food parcel, and 76% of households lacked confidence in their ability to access parcels if needed due to perceived party-political bias and unclear criteria.
• The suspension of the National School Nutrition Programme during lockdown increased pressure on household budgets, as 47.5% of surveyed households had children participating in the programme.
• Home food production is nearly non-existent in Postmasburg, with only 5% of households growing food. Barriers include a lack of gardening culture, small yard sizes, high water costs, and a harsh, arid climate.

APA

Perkins, D., Andersson, G., & Cooper, T. (2020). FOOD SECURITY FRAGILITY IN A MINING-DEPENDENT TOWN A SNAPSHOT OF POSTMASBURG IN THE NORTHERN CAPE. WWF South Africa. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/food_security_fragility_in_a_mining_dependent_town.pdf

Chicago

Perkins, David, Gavin Andersson, and Tracey Cooper. FOOD SECURITY FRAGILITY IN A MINING-DEPENDENT TOWN A SNAPSHOT OF POSTMASBURG IN THE NORTHERN CAPE. WWF South Africa, 2020. https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/food_security_fragility_in_a_mining_dependent_town.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Perkins |first1=David |last2=Andersson |first2=Gavin |last3=Cooper |first3=Tracey |title=FOOD SECURITY FRAGILITY IN A MINING-DEPENDENT TOWN A SNAPSHOT OF POSTMASBURG IN THE NORTHERN CAPE |publisher=WWF South Africa |date=July 2020 |url=https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/food_security_fragility_in_a_mining_dependent_town.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{perkins2020food, author = {Perkins, David and Andersson, Gavin and Cooper, Tracey}, title = {{FOOD SECURITY FRAGILITY IN A MINING-DEPENDENT TOWN A SNAPSHOT OF POSTMASBURG IN THE NORTHERN CAPE}}, institution = {WWF South Africa}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://wwfafrica.awsassets.panda.org/downloads/food_security_fragility_in_a_mining_dependent_town.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }