​On Sunday, the Gauteng Department of Social Development commemorated the World Food Day by unveiling 60 beneficiaries who were capacitated on business and agricultural skills, so they can run sustainable enterprises.
The program was hosted at Dr Fabian and Florence Ribeiro Substance Abuse Treatment Centre in Cullinan, Tshwane.

MEC Mbali Hlophe said, “No one should go to bed on an empty stomach, hence Premier Panyaza Lesufi has indicated that we need to concentrate on eradicating poverty in townships and hostels and encourage people to grow their own vegetables”.

She said, “Statistics show that many children have malnutrition because they are dependent on school nutrition programs, which is once a day on weekdays. The two provincial departments, Social Development and Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment have been grouped to maximize the footprint in terms of poverty alleviation and this is critical”.

Dr Mercy Chikoko from Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) an organ of the United Nations Sub Regional Office for Southern Africa said that the World Food Day is a global event first commemorated on 16 October 1979 and every year since with over 150 countries celebrating it.

She said, “The aim of the World Food Day is to highlight the plight of millions of people worldwide who are food insecure and who cannot afford a healthy diet and have the need for regular access to nutritional food”.

Chikoko said that the department must be commended on its efforts in helping communities particularly women and youth to become independent, not just to farm for subsistence, but to grow from small scale to medium scale and all the way to being commercial farmers.

Local beneficiary Priscilla Mitchell (23) thanked the department for the opportunity and said, “I have learnt how to plant which was something I could not do before. I wish other young people could also be given the knowledge that will end poverty”.

Lennon Mavuwa from Daracorp, an implementing agent said, “As Daracorp we package and sell agricultural products and as result we are funded to a tune of R21 million to buy agricultural equipment for the nine sites availed by the department to address poverty alleviation, women development, and food security through agricultural production”. The commemoration of the World Food Day is aimed at promoting food security all over the globe, use as a leverage to raise awareness about healthy diets and promotion of initiatives to increase food access even in times of crisis and disasters.

The Urban Poverty and Inequality Elimination Strategy, also known as the Anti-Poverty Strategy, was introduced by the Gauteng Provincial Government in response to the challenges of hunger and poverty. The strategy aims to ensure the social inclusion of the marginalized, connect the poor and vulnerable to economic opportunities, as well as to combat hunger and food insecurity.