Zukiswa Pikoli, Maverick Citizen editor, travelled to the Western Cape to get the perspectives of people who grow our food. They spoke out about pesticide exposure and the struggle for a fair wage, despite the very real possibility of losing their livelihoods.
She then trundled through the bumpy dirt roads to Nqileni village in the Eastern Cape, where an NGO is working to improve the lives of children and adults, both locally and also through national policy advocacy.
She returned to Johannesburg to get a firsthand account of food insecurity in Bertrams and to meet one young person who is committed to community. She also spoke to an owner of an alternative grocery store — only organic, and only driven to healthier food choices in a fast-paced city.
All episodes are hosted and produced by Pikoli, co-produced by Lillian Roberts, recorded at Flame Studios at Constitution Hill, Johannesburg, and edited by Martin Nkanyiso Ngwenya.
Episode 1: Poisoned Producers – perilous working conditions of farmworkers who feed South Africa
Charmaine King, a seasonal farmworker, speaks to Maverick Citizen editor Zukiswa Pikoli about pesticide exposure, her working and living conditions on the Stellenbosch farm she works on, and what it is like to be food-insecure despite being a food producer in South Africa. She also spoke about her hopes for the future of agricultural workers in the country.
/file/attachments/orphans/CharmaineKing_6907_442903.jpg "Charmaine King, a seasonal farmworker, speaks to Daily Maverick about her life and living conditions as a farmeworker. (Photo: Nathi Nqobile)")
Episode 2, Part 1: Feeding a nation & farmworkers’ food insecurity
Dr Kara Mackay of the Women on Farms project outlines to Maverick Citizen editor Zukiswa Pikoli what her role is in the NGO, why the organisation was created and how it supports women farmworkers in the Northern and Western Cape.
/file/attachments/orphans/DrKaraMackay_6983_599094.jpg "Dr Kara Mackay works with Women on Farms, where they focus on decent work, feminist reparation, and equitable access to land. They have focused heavily on the 'double standards' campaign, where pesticides banned in Europe are exported for use in Africa and elsewhere. (Photo: Nathi Nqobile)")
Episode 3, Part 2: Feeding a nation & farmworkers’ food insecurity
Dr Kara Mackay of the Women on Farms project is back in conversation with Maverick Citizen editor Zukiswa Pikoli, talking about the structural causes of a lack of transformation in commercial agriculture, and what the government should do to change the lives of food producers.