Strategies to enhance the recognition of Indigenous African Women in food security

Abstract

The study employed a qualitative research design because it is exploratory and the researcher wanted to describe the respondents' experiences and views. The researcher collected analyzed and interpreted primary data in order to embark on enhancement strategies for the recognition of the indigenous African women in food security. Through a case study of the Lokaleng Village (North-West Province), the researcher was able to contextualize the findings for all instances demonstrating similar characteristics. In Lokaleng village, the majority of people, especially women, depend on the government's social grants for a living. They are unemployed and hence the researcher was able to approach women at their households at any time and day of the week. The Lokaleng village community is used in this study as the population. The researcher selected a representative sample of that population. For this study, case study was used, whereby data was collected by interviews with written questionnaires. The study employed a qualitative research design, and data was collected through qualitative data-collection methods. Non-probability sampling approach was employed. Semi-structured interviews were applied in this study and the questions were asked according to the tool. The researcher selected women who were willing to participate voluntarily in the study, with a view to share their views on the enhancement strategies for the recognition of indigenous African women in food security within the Lokaleng village. Food security is seen as a Constitutional Right in South Africa and guarantees its citizens to have access to sufficient food and water, and that "the state must by legislation and other measures, within its available resources provide." In Lokaleng village, women continue to face many barriers preventing them from fulfilling their potential as farmers and entrepreneurs, thus undermining their food security creativities and incomes. The study found that indigenous African women of Lokaleng, like any other women in the country and in most developing countries, are the mainstay of small-scale agriculture, farm labour, and day-to-day family subsistence, hence these women's efforts to ensure food security can only be realised if the full potential of women is acknowledged. Furthermore, the entire women farmers generally agreed that their challenges with respect to food security comprise financial non capacity, lack of farm equipment, absence of fertilizer, shortage of water due to small amount of rainfall, theft of farm produce, invasion of farm lands by pests/ birds and hostile weather conditions that aggravate the circumstances. However, the women have developed remarkable resilience to sustain the bulk of their own needs. The study asserts that the local indigenous women have the capacity to lead their own revolution towards food security. These women poses a unique skill by using their IKS that plays a great role in agriculture, however, these factors tend to be marginalized in agricultural research. Women have limited access to and control over agricultural resources. Therefore, a critical understanding of their role in agricultural research should be taken seriously by researchers, policymakers and other stakeholders.