The Invisible Crisis: Urban Food Security in Southern Africa

This is the first in a series of policy and research papers designed to raise the profile of the urban food security issue in Africa by presenting new research findings and policy recommendations.

This paper first examines the emergence of food security as a central development issue on the global and continental stage, arguing that rural bias is being reproduced and perpetuated in international, regional and national policy agendas. The “invisible crisis” of urban food security refers to the marginalization and silencing of the voices and plight of the urban poor. The second section examines global and regional trends in urbanization and the dimensions of urban poverty and food insecurity in Southern Africa. The final section of the paper presents a new programme for addressing food security issues in African towns and cities.