By Phumlani Dyini, Chief ESG Officer, The SPAR Group
As we mark World Food Day on 16 October, the conversation around food security needs to extend beyond whether enough food is being produced. The more difficult question is whether the systems that produce, move and distribute that food are resilient enough to ensure people can access it consistently and affordably.
South Africa’s agricultural sector continues to demonstrate its importance to the economy. According to Statistics South Africa, agriculture, forestry and fishing grew by 3.9% in the first quarter of 2026, driven primarily by stronger activity in field crops and horticulture. The National Agricultural Marketing Council reported that agricultural exports increased by 11% year-on-year to approximately US$3.71 billion in the first quarter of 2026.
Yet strong production and export performance do not automatically translate into food security for every household. The latest General Household Survey from Statistics South Africa continues to highlight the gap between national food availability and household access. In 2024, 14% of households reported inadequate access to food, while a further 8.2% experienced severe food inadequacy.
This points to a more complex challenge. Food security is influenced not only by production, but by affordability, livelihoods, infrastructure, logistics, market access and the resilience of the relationships connecting producers to consumers.
This is why the role of business in the food system deserves greater attention.
Businesses operating across the food value chain can contribute to longer-term resilience by supporting producers, creating pathways for emerging enterprises, reducing food loss and waste, and working with partners to improve access to food. These efforts are most effective when they strengthen the connections between different parts of the system.
Collaboration is particularly important because no single organisation can address the complexity of food insecurity alone. Government, agriculture, business, retailers, logistics providers, civil society and communities each occupy a different part of the system.
At SPAR, our partnership with FoodForward SA provides one example of how collaboration can help address food insecurity while tackling food waste. It reflects a broader principle that food that would otherwise be lost can become a resource for communities when the right partnerships and distribution systems are in place.
The opportunity extends further upstream.
Agriculture is an important contributor to South Africa’s economy, employment and trade. In the fourth quarter of 2025 alone, agricultural exports reached R268.7 billion, with year-on-year growth of approximately 9%, according to the Department of Agriculture. The sector supports about 950,000 jobs, while the broader agricultural value chain makes a substantial contribution to the economy.
Behind these numbers are farmers, agricultural workers, entrepreneurs, young people, researchers and institutions whose work determines the strength of the food system.
This is one of the reasons SPAR is supporting the 2026 South African Agricultural Awards (SAAA). The Awards provide a platform to recognise excellence across the agricultural value chain, from farmers and agricultural enterprises to young agriculturalists, institutions and organisations contributing to the sector’s development. SPAR sponsors categories focused on agricultural education, rural transformation, women empowerment and skills development.
Where there is potential to connect agricultural excellence with opportunity, businesses can help create pathways from recognition to participation in the economy. The SAAA partnership includes an opportunity to explore market access for qualifying, quality-assured winners through SPAR’s retail market and supply chain.
SPAR’s Supplier Development Hub provides a practical example of how business can help create these pathways. It supports small-scale farmers on the journey towards becoming commercial suppliers through agronomic support, food-safety training, access to finance, mechanisation and market access. The Awards recognise excellence, while the Hub helps create the conditions for emerging farmers to achieve it.
This is where the conversation around food security becomes broader. A resilient food system is not simply one that produces enough food. It is one that creates viable livelihoods, supports sustainable production, connects producers to markets, reduces waste and ensures that food can move efficiently through the system to the people who need it.
World Food Day provides an important moment to reflect on what it will take to build such a system. But food security cannot be addressed on one day, or by one part of the value chain.
Ultimately, a resilient food system is one in which the different parts of the value chain are strong enough to support one another, from the farmer producing the food, to the businesses creating market access, to the systems that move food efficiently, and ultimately the communities that depend on it.
The task ahead is therefore not simply to produce more food, but to build a food system that is more resilient, inclusive and sustainable, one that can continue to support livelihoods, communities and the economy well into the future.
