Any assistance to farmers during the current lockdown should be welcomed.

The minister of agriculture, land reform and rural development, Thoko Didiza, today announced funding allocations to mitigate food security in the country through a R1.2 billion cash injection for small-scale farmers.

What does it help if we pull all the stops to protect our health, but we forget to ensure that everyone has an adequate food supply? The Covid-19 pandemic will accentuate levels of inequality in society in ways we have not anticipated, unless we start paying closer attention to food security among the poorest of the poor.

Most European and North American countries are generally regarded as food secure and hold a prominent place in the Global Food Security Index.

In "Africa’s Path to Growth: Sector by Sector", published in 2010, global consultancy McKinsey argues for a sectoral approach to development in Africa.

Those of us trying to model the Covid-19 pandemic should try to be humble; there is more we don’t know than we do.