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High food prices are driving hunger in SA: What can be done?

Daily Maverick · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 1404 words · By Stephen Devereux; Andrew Bennie; Marc Wegerif; Yondela Mahlathi; Oscar Sithole; Mark Volmink
Social Welfare Policy Food Insecurity Corporate accountability
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What to know about Social Welfare Policy

Everyone has the right to sufficient food, guaranteed by the South African Constitution.

Claims checked 17
Techniques found 3
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Everyone has the right to sufficient food, guaranteed by the South African Constitution.

Why it matters

But more than half of South Africans are food insecure, because their incomes are too low and food prices are too high – and the number of people going hungry is rising, even as World Hunger Day 2026 approaches.

Common ground

Statistics quantify the scale of the food crisis.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Causal Oversimplification, Exaggeration / Hyperbole: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-25-high-food-prices-are-driving-…

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
warning
Causal Oversimplification 60% confidence
Assuming a single cause for a complex issue.
warning
Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

17 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 7
info Single Source 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
help Insufficient Evidence 2
check_circle Corroborated 1
verified
“Everyone has the right to sufficient food, guaranteed by the South African Constitution.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms the Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law and sets out the human rights and duties of its citizens. While the provided snippet doesn't explicitly quote the 'right to food' clause, the Constitution of South Africa (Section 27) is the authoritative reference for these rights.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Constitution of 1961 (formally the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act, 1961) was the fundamental law of South Africa for two decades. Under the terms of the constitution South Africa ceased…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African_Constitution_of_…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Constitution of South Africa is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. It provides the legal foundation for the existence of the republic, it sets out the human rights and duties of its …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_South_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Interim Constitution was the fundamental law of South Africa from during the first non-racial general election on 27 April 1994 until it was superseded by the final constitution on 4 February 1997…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interim_Constitution_(South_Af…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“more than half of South Africans are food insecure”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Web results mention 16% facing high levels of acute food insecurity and other percentages (12.7%), but no source provided confirms that 'more than half' (50%+) of the population is food insecure.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Apartheid ( ə-PART-(h)yte, especially South African English: ə-PART-(h)ayt, Afrikaans: [aˈpart(ɦ)əit] ; transl. "separateness", lit. 'aparthood') was a system of institutionalised racial segregation …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Union of South Africa (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Afrika; Afrikaans: Unie van Suid-Afrika, ) was a British Dominion and, later, a Commonwealth realm in southern Africa from 1910 to 1961. It was the his…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“The United Nations estimates that the proportion of undernourished people in South Africa trebled, from 3.3% to 10%, between 2006 and 2024.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While sources discuss the Global Hunger Index and UN targets, none of the provided evidence contains the specific statistics (3.3% to 10%) or the specific date range (2006-2024) mentioned in the claim.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — According to the 2022 census, the population of South Africa is about 62 million people of diverse origins, cultures, languages, and religions, with a majority being Black Africans. The South African …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_South_Africa
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka (Zulu pronunciation: [pʰumziːle m̩lamboᵑǀʱuːkʼa] ; born 3 November 1955) is a South African politician and former United Nations official, who served as the Executive Director o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phumzile_Mlambo-Ngcuka
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
“Almost 11 million South Africans live below the food poverty line of R855 per person per month”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources confirm that almost 11 million South Africans live below the food poverty line of R855 per person per month.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago ... Almost 11 million South Africans live below the food poverty line of R855 per person per month, surviving on R28 or less per day. More than ...
https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-05-25-high-food…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Money-metric poverty headcounts in 2023 and national poverty lines for 2023 (per person per month in Rands) ... which declined to 17,6% (roughly 11 million people) ...
https://www.parliament.gov.za/storage/app/media/Pages/2026/0…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Jan 29, 2026 ... Up to 20 million South Africans are severely food insecure, with millions of children going to bed hungry each night – a shameful reality.
https://www.facebook.com/StatsSA/posts/povertyinsa-heres-a-l…
info
“More than one in 4 children under five (28.8%) have stunted growth.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One source (Feedie and the Lunchbox Fund) mentions 27% of children under five have stunted growth. Another source mentions 15% low birth weight and 5% wasting, but does not corroborate the 28.8% figure.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. Its nine provinces are bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 miles) of coastline that stre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — South African may relate to: The nation of South Africa South Africans South African Airways South African English South African people Languages of South Africa Southern Africa
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_African
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Union of South Africa (Dutch: Unie van Zuid-Afrika; Afrikaans: Unie van Suid-Afrika, ) was a British Dominion and, later, a Commonwealth realm in southern Africa from 1910 to 1961. It was the his…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_of_South_Africa
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
“The Department of Health records a shocking 1,000 child deaths owing to malnutrition every year.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results about the Southern United States and an inn, providing no information on child deaths due to malnutrition.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is one of the four census regions of the United…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_United_States
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Pick berries, participate in plantings, learn about beekeeping or have a high-flying aerial adventure. Fill your days with new discoveries, immersed in the healing power of nature. Southall’s immersiv…
https://www.southalltn.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find low fares to top destinations and plan your travel today. Book Southwest flights, rental cars, and hotels on southwest.com.
https://www.southwest.com/
info
“in 2025, maize producers and maize-meal retailers in South Africa captured excessively high margins, by failing to pass cost reductions on to consumers.”
SINGLE SOURCE
Web results discuss maize production and forecasts for 2025, but none mention maize producers or retailers capturing excessively high margins by failing to pass cost reductions to consumers.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nigeria surpasses South Africa in total maize output in 2025, thanks to expansive smallholder farming across the North and Southwest. Programs like the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme and the Central Bank’s …
https://www.africanexponent.com/top-10-maize-producers-in-af…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The South Africa Maize Market has been experiencing steady production growth and is marked with a 6.0% annual growth in the production of the cereal for human consumption during the 2020-2021 cropping…
https://www.marknteladvisors.com/research-library/south-afri…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Commercial yellow maize plantings are expected to exceed those of white maize by 2025. Commercial white maize production will reach a 20-year low in 2016 at 3,07 million tons.
https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/agri-news/south-africa/five-…
info
“the “big five” supermarket chains dominate the formal retail sector.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The search results returned are generic definitions of the number 5 and unrelated companies (FiveM, Five Below), providing no evidence regarding South African supermarket chains.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — FiveM allows servers to use custom cars, maps, weapons, and more dynamically. FiveM allows servers to keep the original game AI, so you'll never be alone. You can also PvE! FiveM uses Rockstar's netwo…
https://fivem.net/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Five Below. 1,860,918 likes · 61,795 talking about this · 45,418 were here. hot stuff. cool prices. extreme $1-$5 value & trends + some incredible finds...
https://www.facebook.com/fivebelow/
help
“cartels colluding to profiteer, as with the bread price-fixing scandal in the early 2000s.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the bread price-fixing scandal in the early 2000s.
help
“the cost of a basic food basket has increased by 33% since 2021”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found after searching for the 33% increase in the cost of a basic food basket since 2021.
schedule
“maize meal and cooking oil increased by close to 50%”
PENDING
schedule
“Some basic food items are zero-rated for VAT”
PENDING
schedule
“During his annual State of the Nation Address in February 2026, President Ramaphosa announced: “This year, we will embark on a mission to end child stunting by 2030.””
PENDING
schedule
“The Child Support Grant (R560) and the Social Relief of Distress grant (R370)”
PENDING
schedule
“The UK government has just asked supermarkets to freeze prices of essential foods in response to their cost-of-living crisis.”
PENDING
schedule
“The government of Mexico adopted a more direct approach, requiring supermarkets to provide a basket of 24 basic food items at a capped maximum price.”
PENDING
schedule
“President Ramaphosa wrote in October 2025: “The ‘Big Five’ retail companies can and must play a far greater role in making nutritious food more affordable for South African households.””
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.