As a firm specialising in market research and data analysis through surveys, feasibility studies and polls, among others, we hope to bring valuable insights through today’s article as we focus on statistics pertaining to food insecurity as reported in a report by Statistics Botswana titled ‘Prevalence of Food Insecurity in Botswana 2021/22.’
The research conducted showed that during the year 2021/22, 26.16 percent of the population was affected by severe food insecurity, 27.13 percent was affected by moderate food insecurity whilst the remaining 46.71 percent of the population faced mild food insecurity. The report also shows that the percentage of people who experienced moderate or severe food insecurity increased to 53.29 percent nationally in 2021/22 from 51.06 percent in 2020/21 and 50.8 percent in 2018/19.
For avoidance of doubt, the following categories used in the model of study can be interpreted as follows: severe means that the test subjects cannot afford food for a day or more, moderate means that the subjects either compromised on food quality and variety or they reduced food quantity and skipped meals, while mild denotes that the subjects were uncertain regarding their ability to obtain food.
According to the published statistics, the majority of the population in Botswana had some access to food during the 2021/22 year. On the other hand, 26.16 percent of the population had limited access to food, which technically means they were surviving in severe poverty. The study shows that among the people who suffered severe food insecurity, the majority (33.49 percent) were located in the rural areas, 24.81 percent were in urban villages and the population in the cities or towns were the least affected as only 17.64 percent faced severe food insecurity.
However, the analysis of the research did not take into account the year 2019/20 statistics as the research was not conducted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lack of funding. Therefore, there is an analysis gap between the years 2018/19 and 2021/22.
Global production systems disrupted
While the COVID-19 pandemic put pressure on international supply chains, the Russia-Ukraine war has disrupted the global food production system. Projections point to a deficit of 30 million tonnes of grain harvest in the 2022–2023 season. Sub-Saharan Africa is mentioned to be one of the regions that will be hard hit by this shortage, especially countries that do not produce sufficient food for their own populations.
According to a report released by Statistics South Africa, almost a quarter of South Africans were affected by moderate to severe food insecurity, with almost 15 percent suffering from severe food insecurity in the pre-COVID era, and this continued to the post-COVID era, though the situation has become better due to increased food production.
Research is key
For every nation, food security is a very important determinant of whether people can lead an active and healthy life because it determines their access to food which is required to meet nutrient needs. This study helps the government and the general population in planning, assessing or implementing measures to address poverty related to food accessibility.
We hope this article was insightful and demonstrated to some extent the importance of market research or data in business decision-making. As stated above, we offer market research and data analysis through surveys, feasibility studies, polls, among other data-related services.
Please contact us on +267 7187 0023 or research@easternman.co.bw for consulting or to join our free research WhatsApp group.
