Three decades into democracy, South Africa’s agricultural sector remains a site of entrenched inequalities, where gender-based violence (GBV) and food insecurity intersect in ways that expose the failures of the country’s peacebuilding efforts.
The promise of transformation in the agricultural system, which would redress historical injustices and create equitable access to land and food security, has remained largely unfulfilled. Instead, structural violence persists, disproportionately affecting women farmworkers who remain at the margins of economic inclusion and legal protection.
On March 5, 2025, the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR), University College Dublin, and the Irish Embassy in South Africa convened a policy roundtable to discuss how policy implementation can be strengthened to address these systemic failures and promote normative diffusion that brings gender, food security, and GBV into the center of agricultural policy reform. The roundtable brought together key stakeholders, including the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, the Irish Ambassador to South Africa, government representatives, media, civil society organizations, the Embassy of Italy, and academic researchers. Discussions examined the inadequacies of South Africa’s legislative framework, the exploitative nature of commercial agriculture, and the urgent need for gender-responsive policies, derived from the policy brief titled: A Promise not Fulfilled: GBV in South Africa’s Agricultural system.
Key Themes and Challenges Discussed
- The Gendered Dimensions of Food Insecurity in Peacebuilding
South Africa’s post-apartheid policies have failed to address the structural barriers that exclude women from land ownership and decision-making in food systems. Women remain the backbone of small-scale and subsistence farming, yet they experience the highest levels of food insecurity. The conversation underscored the gendered nature of hunger as both a consequence and driver of systemic inequalities, highlighting the need for an intersectional approach to agricultural reform. - GBV in Agricultural Spaces: Exploitation, Violence, and Legal Gaps
Women farmworkers are subject to precarious employment conditions, low wages, and widespread workplace violence. Reports from civil society representatives and academic researchers pointed to the systemic nature of GBV in the sector, ranging from sexual exploitation by farm owners to the economic coercion that forces women into cycles of dependency and abuse. Weak enforcement of current labour laws and limited legal recourse for marginalized workers often means women remain trapped in these precarious employment situations. - The Failure of Legislative Protections and Institutional Oversight
Land reform policies remain exclusionary, reinforcing the economic precarity of women farmers. The discussion emphasized the urgent need to strengthen enforcement mechanisms, ensure gender-sensitive agricultural policies, and integrate food security into GBV prevention frameworks. - Regulating Commercial Agriculture for Local Benefit
The roundtable challenged the dominance of large-scale commercial agriculture, which prioritizes export-oriented production over local food security. Participants called for policy shifts that regulate commercial agriculture to benefit small-scale farmers and rural communities, ensuring that land reform efforts actively redistribute resources to marginalized groups, particularly women.
Proposed Policy Resolutions
- Strengthening Labor Protections and Workplace Safety
Government representatives committed to reviewing existing labour laws to address the vulnerabilities of women farmworkers. Proposed interventions include stricter enforcement of anti-harassment policies, improved workplace safety standards, and establishing grievance mechanisms accessible to rural women. - Gender-Responsive Agricultural and Land Policies
There was a strong call for integrating gender-sensitive training and protections into agricultural development programs. Policies must ensure women farmers have access to land, credit, and agricultural markets, reducing their economic dependency and vulnerability to GBV. - Bridging the Gap Between Policy and Implementation
The policy failures discussed at the roundtable highlighted the need for a national monitoring framework that tracks gendered violence, labour rights violations, and food insecurity in agricultural spaces. To strengthen oversight mechanisms, a collaborative approach between government, civil society, and academic institutions was proposed. - Integrating Food Security into GBV Prevention Strategies
Recognizing hunger as a form of structural violence will ensure that interventions should address the economic conditions that make women vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.
The policy roundtable reaffirmed that food insecurity, GBV, and economic exclusion in the agricultural sector are not isolated issues but deeply interconnected legacies of South Africa’s failed peacebuilding project. Without structural reforms that recognize and address these injustices, democratic gains remain incomplete for those who experience violence and deprivation at the margins of society.
Moving forward, the challenge lies in ensuring that discussions translate into action. Stakeholders must push for policy shifts that prioritize justice, equity, and inclusivity within South Africa’s food systems. As the roundtable made clear, true transformation in agriculture must centre those most affected by its failures—women farmworkers, small-scale producers, and rural communities.