A ‘bumper harvest’ is predicted for South Africa in 2026. The rains across our country have been uneven (too little in some parts, harsh floods in others). But overall La Niña has blessed large parts of our agricultural land, enhancing the ability of commercial farmers to produce food.
Sadly, that good crops won’t reduce widespread hunger is evidence of how out of joint time is in our modern world. Despite good harvests, agricultural surpluses, advanced food systems and available land in 2026,hunger will continue to stalk the landin South Africa. It is estimated that up to 20 million people live on a spectrum of hunger.
Some are hungry all the time. Some “only” suffer from seasonal hunger. Some suffer monthly hunger when social grants or wages run out.
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Further, because the food most accessible to the poor is low in nutrients and high in sugar, fat and unhealthy additives, diseases of hunger are rife even among those who can “afford” food but cannot afford nutritious food. Unhealthy food is contributing to growing epidemics of diabetes, hypertension and cancer.The starkest statistics concern hunger, malnutrition and undernutrition in children. The numbers reflect a perfect storm of preventable death (more than 10,000 kids a yearif you count those where malnutrition is an underlying cause),stunting in children under five (29%)and now arising tide of childhood obesity linked to poor diet.
Hunger is the nexus of so many of South Africa’s social problems. Evidence shows that hunger is a determinant of noncommunicable disease; a factor in poor educational outcomes, due to stunting and low energy; that women carry the heaviest burdens of hunger, directly and indirectly; it is also a factor in domestic violence and mental illness. Hunger has an incalculable social, economic and political cost.
“Incalculable” only because nobody has really added it all up. This tragedy should cause all of us to hang our heads in shame. But look at it another way for a minute: if we were able to reduce hunger it would have a positive ripple effect on so many other social ills.
If society, led by civil society, united around campaigns to end hunger, apart from millions of happier, healthier human beings there would be many other beneficial outcomes. In 2025 there was growing advocacy and campaigns that focused on the constitutional right (found in section 27) of everyone in South Africa to “sufficient food” and of every child to “basic nutrition”. This was led in particular by the newly formedUnion Against Hunger, which now numbers more than 50 organisations who challenged both the government and the private sector to do more. As the clamour for action on hunger grew it was echoed even by President Cyril Ramaphosa, who used World Food Day 2025 to deliver a major speech focusing on hunger.
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