Coalition of organisations the South African Food Sovereignty Campaign (SAFSC) has reiterated its call for the unlocking of South Africa’s food commons as it launches its coronavirus (Covid-19) education tool to help small scale gardeners and farmers ensure they operate within public health guidelines.

In a letter addressed to President Cyril Ramaphosa; Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environmental Affairs Barbara Creecy; Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Lindiwe Sisulu; and the Solidarity Fund, the SAFSC stated that starvation was a serious challenge facing the country.

“Starvation is a serious challenge facing the country. It’s in this context we reiterate our emphasis on unlocking the food commons: small scale farmers, community gardeners, informal food trading and small scale fishers. About 70% of poor households source their food from such sources,” said the organisation.

The SAFSC noted that informal trading in food under public health guidelines was permissible under lockdown Level 3 regulations but that it faced a drag at a local government level, particularly Cape Town’s Grand Parade.

“This iconic space has been used by traders for decades and is not a flea market but an organised public trading space. The cruelty of excluding informal traders from the grand parade is unacceptable and it has no basis in science,” said the organisation.

The SAFSC also challenged Creecy’s decision to prohibit small scale subsistence fishers from fishing during the sardine run and more generally during level 3 of lockdown.

“Her decision is having devastating consequences for small scale fishers and their families. We are considering legal options together with subsistence fisher organisations, to challenge the Minister,” the SAFSC said.

EDUCATION TOOL

To help small scale gardeners and farmers ensure their operations fall within public health guidelines, the SAFSC has developed its educational tool outlining safety guidelines for food producers. The tool is available in 10 languages.

The SAFSC also invites small scale farmers and others in the food commons to capture their details on the SAFSC’s national mapping tool.

“Our development of a mapping tool of community food relief initiatives on a national scale is at an advanced stage. Making such initiatives visible will also assist in building a partnership with the Solidarity Fund and government and will also assist in ensuring resourcing support goes directly to such initiatives. We also believe such food relief efforts have to go beyond sourcing food from the corporate controlled food system and need to start sourcing directly from the local food sovereignty commons of small scale producers,” said the organisation.

DIALOGUE AND PARTNERSHIP

The organisation noted the Solidarity Fund’s decision to support local agriculture and a voucher system to meet food needs.

The SAFSC invited the Solidarity Fund to deepen its dialogue and partnership with the National Food Crisis Forum.

“Together we can transform the food system now, so it is democratic, localised and ecological and able to meet the needs of society,” said the SAFSC.