South Africa’s Food System Under Scrutiny as SAHRC Opens Second Inquiry

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC/the Commission) will convene a second week-long Investigative Inquiry into the country’s food system from Monday, 6 July 2026 to Friday, 10 July 2026, in Johannesburg, Gauteng.
It was established during the first round of the Inquiry, held in March 2026, that South Africa’s food system is capable of feeding markets efficiently but fails dismally to feed South Africans equitably.
The hearings heard from a range of stakeholders, including civil society organisations, government institutions, researchers and regulators, that roughly 14 million South Africans went to bed hungry in 2024, while malnutrition continues to affect children in a country with one of the continent’s most advanced agricultural sectors.
Malnutrition remains a critical crisis in South Africa, where 23% of children live in severe food poverty and up to 29% suffer from stunting.
“The Commission has thus determined that additional hearings are necessary to receive evidence from key stakeholders in the private sector across the food value chain, including input suppliers and agribusinesses, farmers, food processors and manufacturers, retailers and distributors, as well as industry associations and lobby groups. Their participation will contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the structural, economic and policy factors that influence access to food in South Africa,” the Commission said in a statement.
It added: “A consistent theme emerging from these proceedings was the need to further interrogate the structure of the food system, particularly market concentration and the role of private sector actors in shaping access to food, affordability and nutritional outcomes.”
The National Investigative Hearing was initiated in response to complaints received by the Commission, together with findings from its monitoring work, which revealed growing concerns regarding the lack of access to adequate food. The Inquiry is being conducted in accordance with the relevant legislation, which guarantees everyone the right to have access to sufficient food.
“Despite this constitutional guarantee, millions of people in South Africa continue to experience hunger and food insecurity. Children remain particularly vulnerable, with many suffering from malnutrition and stunting, while preventable hunger continues to result in avoidable loss of life. This is especially concerning given that South Africa possesses the agricultural capacity and food resources necessary to feed its entire population,” the statement concluded.