Correlates of access to ICT and food security of the poor in South Africa’s Soshanguve

Abstract

This study discusses access to information and communication technology in the context of food security in Soshanguve, a slum area of The City of Tshwane, the administrative Capital of South Africa. City dwellers access food from retail outlets in a country where dispatching food is a lucrative business. Hence, food price increases pose challenges to urban households. South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC), other television stations and radio stations broadcast food marketing information through eleven official languages. Digital food marketing through cellular phone networks is on the rise.ICT is hence a potential tool in the fight against food insecurity and hunger, since its use and range of application continue to grow at astonishing rates. ICT tools to enhance food security are highlighted in UNICEF's use of RapidSMS technology in Ethiopia and Malawi in their food distribution programmes supplying high-protein food to undernourished children ownership, among others.Using questions contained in the USAID developed Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS), questionnaires were administered to 300 randomly selected households in Soshanguve. Respondents were asked of their experiences of food insecurity (access) with a recall period of four weeks (30 days).About half of households in Soshanguve are food secure, just over 12% are mildly food insecure, about the same proportion are moderately food insecure, while more than a quarter of surveyed households are severely food insecure. Most households in Soshanguve have access to the use of ICT devices, primarily in the form of cellular phone devices. Food secure households can utilise ICT tools in any manner to meet their food security needs. Our study shows that ICT access is positively associated with household food security. Transactional purchases of items on credit using cellular or landline telephony are, in particular, important in enhancing food security.

The effect of Internet usage on dietary quality: Evidence from rural China

“…Specifically, this study found that the use of ICTs can increase the consumption of high‐quality foods, promote dietary diverse among adults, and help combat issues related to overnutrition (Muange & Ngigi, 2021). Another study from South Africa found that ICTs access, such as mobile or landline phones, was positively correlated with household food security (Akinboade et al, 2022).…”