A team of EEE researchers has been instrumental in positioning the HSRC as one of the main partners developing the One Food idea. The One Food idea emphasises identification and control of food systems hazards to ensure food and nutrition security is achieved without compromising economic, social, and environmental sustainability.

The team is leading contributions on how the human and social sciences can be incorporated into One Food approaches and methodologies to ensure its effectiveness in informing policy actions. The One Food project partners are institutions from South Africa and the UK, including the HSRC. Currently, the various One Food project partners are contributing to the development of a One Food Risk Tool. The tool will be used to quantify the impact of hazards associated with food systems.

As part of the development of the tool, Vandudzai Mbanda, Peter Jacobs and Sisonke Mtyapi from the Climate, Land and Agro-Food Systems (CLAS) team in the HSRC’s EEE division will be part of the One Food Risk Tool Workshop taking place from 27–29 February 2024, at the CSIR International Conference Centre, in Pretoria.

The purpose of the workshop is threefold:

(i) to demonstrate the prototype Risk Tool,

(ii) to generate cross-discipline debates on how to assess hazards associated with food systems, and

(iii) to test the tool and scoring system. Hazards related to food systems that will be tested during the workshop include biological, chemical, physical, human and socio-economic hazards.

Specifically, the tool testing involves identifying:

(i) the hazard which causes the risk,

(ii) the impact(s) associated with that hazard,

(iii) the population at risk, and

(iv) the level of exposure to members of the ‘at-risk population’.

The workshop aims to end with ideas on how the One Food Risk Tool can be used in practice and what it can achieve for South Africa.

View and download the HSRC’s One food: social sciences advisory report from the repository here.