Food Security SA

Gluten-free foods are often expensive, highly specialised and out of reach for many of the people who need them most.

That is the challenge CoE-FS-supported researcher Daddy Kgonothi set out to address through his PhD research at the University of Pretoria.

Working under the supervision of Professor Naushad Emmambux, CoE-FS Co-Principal Investigator: Innovation and Technology, Daddy developed a patent-pending modified marama bean protein concentrate that could help simplify gluten-free baking while improving product quality, shelf life and affordability.

Derived from marama beans — a drought-resistant, nutrient-rich legume indigenous to Southern Africa — the innovation aims to mimic some of the functional properties of gluten, helping dough retain structure and texture without requiring numerous additional ingredients.

The research is currently at the prototype stage, with a patent application submitted and further work underway to optimise its use in gluten-free bread production.

Beyond supporting consumers who require gluten-free diets, the innovation could create new opportunities for small-scale farmers by increasing demand for marama beans and strengthening local value chains.

Reflecting on the achievement, Daddy said that learning his work was worthy of patent filing changed how he viewed himself: as a PhD candidate and now, but as an innovator.

Swipe through to learn more about the research, the innovation, and the journey behind it.

Photos: Professor Naushad Emmambux, Professor Ndiko Ludidi, Je’nine May, Carla Bernardo

"The time for being polite is over."

On World Hunger Day 2026, the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), the Union Against Hunger and the Women on Farms Project brought together researchers, activists and community leaders to reflect on the SA Human Rights Commission's "National Inquiry into the Food Systems of South Africa".

The discussion explored a difficult reality: South Africa has the policies, institutions, research and resources needed to address hunger, yet millions of people continue to experience food insecurity and malnutrition.

Speakers from the CoE-FS, UWC School of Public Health / The University of the Western Cape, WFP, Masifundise Development Trust and Animal Law Reform South Africa examined issues ranging from food affordability, social protection and children's right to basic nutrition, to food system inequality, corporate power, land, labour and accountability.

A recurring theme throughout the discussion was that hunger is shaped by decisions, priorities and systems — and can therefore be changed.

Watch the full discussion on our YouTube channel:

"The time for being polite is over": Confronting hunger and food system injustice in South Africa On World Hunger Day 2026, the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food...

What does food insecurity look like from a worker’s perspective?

In the latest edition of COSATU’s Shopsteward magazine, the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS) contributed an article examining the relationship between wages, unemployment, social protection, food prices and access to a nutritious diet.

The article highlights a growing reality in South Africa: many workers and their families are struggling to afford healthy food, while millions of unemployed people face even greater barriers to accessing adequate nutrition. It argues that while food affordability is shaped by food prices, equally important are incomes, inequality, labour conditions and the broader food system.

As a national research platform, the CoE-FS is committed to ensuring that research reaches those most affected by food and nutrition insecurity, as well as those with the power to influence South Africa’s food security trajectory.

With 1.8 million members across a diverse range of sectors and workplaces, COSATU represents an important audience for evidence-based discussions about hunger, malnutrition, food affordability and the policies needed to address them.

As researchers, we must ensure that our knowledge-transfer work is accessible to workers, communities and their representatives, to support advocacy, dialogue and action. Research has the greatest value when it informs decisions, strengthens public debate and contributes to meaningful change.

Read the article, and the magazine, in full via the COSATU website: http://theshopsteward.org.za/

Department of Science,Technology and Innovation SA National Research Foundation The University of the Western Cape University of Pretoria

Food safety is a shared responsibility, from top to bottom, and across the entire food system.

At the University of Pretoria’s (UP) World Food Safety Day event, held on Friday 5 June 2026, Professor Lise Korsten, CoE-FS Co-Director and Food Safety Lead, challenged participants to move beyond compliance and towards a genuine food safety culture. Professor Korsten is also the Ukudla - African German Centre co-Project Leader, and UP, an UKUDLA consortium partner and host of the UKUDLA Graduate Centre.

The event was co-hosted by UP’s Department of Residence (Food Services division), the CoE-FS and UKUDLA.

From leadership and training to communication, supplier management and everyday behaviours, the event explored what it takes to keep food safe in complex environments such as universities, where thousands of meals are prepared and served every day.

The message was clear: food safety is about more than regulations, requiring an equal commitment to health, dignity, trust and accountability.

Swipe through for moments from the event and read the article here: https://foodsecurity.ac.za/news/from-burden-to-solutions-world-food-safety-day-event-highlights-the-importance-of-food-safety-culture/

Photos by Madelene Cronje / CoE-FS and UKUDLA.

Part 2/3: Strategic dialogue, knowledge exchange and the building of new partnerships were at the heart of the second phase of the Cuban delegation's visit to The University of the Western Cape.

Hosted by the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), the programme brought together His Excellency Fakri Rodríguez Pinelo, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to South Africa (Embassy of Cuba in South Africa); Dr Victor Figueroa; and Mr Omar Salazar Noriega with CoE-FS researchers, UWC leadership, faculty representatives, and partners from across the university.

The CoE-FS session provided an opportunity to showcase our work across food systems, nutrition, agroecology, governance and policymaking, food safety, and innovation and technology. Discussions explored shared research interests and opportunities for collaboration, while reflecting on common challenges facing countries of the Global South.

This was followed by a high-level roundtable attended by UWC senior management, faculty deans, directors, heads of department, and their representatives. This included the seven faculties (Dentistry, UWC Faculty of Law, UWC Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, Education, UWC EMS FACULTY, Arts and Humanities, and UWC Faculty of Natural Sciences); The Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS); the South African National Bioinformatics Institute (SANBI); International Relations; UWC School of Public Health; the Office of the DVC: UWC Research & Innovation (Special Projects); the Institute for Social Development; the Institute for Water Studies; and the African Centre for Transnational Criminal Justice.

The discussion focused on child nutrition and public health systems, food system resilience under economic and energy constraints, agroecology and climate adaptation, governance and institutional coordination, and opportunities for research collaboration and academic exchange, among other topics of common interest. Particular attention was given to expanding cooperation between UWC and Cuban institutions, building on existing partnerships and exploring new avenues for South–South collaboration.

The engagements reaffirmed the importance of direct dialogue between institutions of the Global South, and highlighted the valuable opportunities that exist for mutual learning, joint research and deeper academic cooperation between South Africa and Cuba.

High food prices continue to drive hunger and deepen inequality in South Africa, with millions of households unable to afford a healthy diet.

Ahead of , CoE-FS Principal Investigators Professor Stephen Devereux and Professor Marc Wegerif, and CoE-FS grantee Oscar Sithole, alongside co-authors, examine the structural drivers behind food unaffordability — from low incomes and market concentration to rising transport, fuel and energy costs — and outline possible policy responses.

The article argues that addressing hunger requires more than monitoring food inflation. It requires coordinated interventions across the food system, including stronger social protection, improved market transparency, support for shorter supply chains, and policies that prioritise affordable, nutritious food.

Read the full article, via Daily Maverick, here:

High food prices are driving hunger in SA: What can be done? Whether South Africa’s food system is “broken”, as some argue – or is functioning well but only to the benefit of a minority – it clearly is not meeting the needs of a growing majority who simply cann…

Part 1/3: On Wednesday, 20 May 2026, the DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), on behalf of the University of the Western Cape (UWC), hosted a delegation from the Embassy of the Republic of Cuba for a full-day strategic dialogue and knowledge exchange centred on, among others, food systems, public health resilience, and South–South cooperation.

The Cuban delegation was led by His Excellency Fakri Rodríguez Pinelo, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to South Africa; Dr Victor Figueroa, member of the Cuban medical cooperation in South Africa, who developed community-oriented primary care (COPC) projects in the Sedibeng district, and is a senior lecturer in Family Medicine at Wits, specialising in teaching COPC; and Mr Omar Salazar Noriega, Third Secretary in the Press and Cultural Affairs Office at the Embassy.

The morning programme began with an engagement between the delegation; Professor Shaun Pather, Advisor to the Rector and Vice-Chancellor; and Professor Julian May, Director of the CoE-FS and holder of the UNESCO Chair in Science and Education for African Food Systems.

The delegation was formally received by UWC Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Robert Balfour, alongside colleagues from International Relations, led by Dr Tasmeera Singh; Professor May; senior university leadership, including Professor Nicolene Schutte; and institutional partners including Professor Ruth Hall of PLAAS.

The delegation was then hosted for a tour of the Mayibuye Archives — one of the most important liberation archives on the African continent — where discussions reflected on histories of anti-colonial struggle, international solidarity, and the enduring relationship between Cuba and South Africa.

The engagement formed part of a broader programme of institutional dialogue focused on public systems, food and health resilience, research collaboration, and Global South knowledge exchange.

Photos by Je’nine May/CoE-FS.

Congratulations to our grantee and graduate, Thato Mokgalagadi! Today, a Master’s graduate, and present to celebrate this milestone was Thato’s supervisor and CoE-FS Principal Investigator (Governance), Professor Marc Wegerif. Thato’s master’s research focused on the operations of street food traders selling fresh produce, and their contribution to the food system in her hometown of Mahikeng, South Africa. We’re so proud of you Thato, and all our graduates.

Remember to share your CoE-FS graduation news via [email protected].

Recently, CoE-FS and University of the Western Cape PhD researcher and Professor Julian May’s research assistant Keshia Hoaeane returned from Rome, where she participated in the United Nations Food Systems Coordination Hub’s Youth Leadership Programme alongside young researchers, policymakers and practitioners from across the world working on food systems transformation.

The experience created space for engagement on some of the most pressing challenges shaping global food systems — including inequality, climate pressures, governance and access to resources — while also foregrounding the importance of locally grounded solutions and community knowledge.

Reflecting on the programme, Keshia noted that much of her thinking has been shaped through academic research, but equally, through engagement with communities and local initiatives, navigating difficult conditions with limited support. These experiences continue to inform her understanding of governance, resilience and innovation within food systems.

Having recently submitted her PhD, the programme also marked an important transition point in her professional research journey. Her emerging work explores “Innovation under Shared Constraints: Explaining Uneven Food System Transformation in Cape Town”, with a focus on how communities adapt and innovate within structurally unequal systems.

Participation in platforms such as the Youth Leadership Programme strengthens opportunities for South African researchers to contribute to — and learn from — global conversations on food systems, while remaining grounded in the realities of local contexts.

We are proud to see our emerging scholars contributing to these international engagements and bringing those insights back into their research and practice.

The DSTI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Food Security (CoE-FS), together with partners across the University of the Western Cape, invites the UWC community to a public lecture and engagement with His Excellency Fakri Rodríguez Pinelo, Ambassador of the Republic of Cuba to South Africa.

The lecture will reflect on the current social, economic and political context in Cuba, as well as the longstanding bilateral relationship between Cuba and South Africa.

Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2026
Time: 14h00 – 16h00 (arrival from 13h30)
Venue: Library Auditorium, UWC Bellville Campus

This engagement forms part of a broader strategic dialogue and knowledge exchange focused on food systems, public health resilience, social development, and South–South collaboration.

RSVP is essential, and registration will close once venue capacity has been reached.

🔗 Registration link in bio

Please note that this is an in-person event only. The lecture will be recorded and made publicly available afterwards.