Biowatch SA

09/04/2026

APPLICATIONS NOW CLOSED.

We're hiring: INTERN

WHERE: Based in Durban, South Africa
WHEN: 1 June 2026 to 31 May 2027

Biowatch is seeking a young university graduate intern to join our hardworking and creative team to:
- Provide additional capacity to strengthen overall team effectiveness.
- Support planning, coordination and logistics for events (including webinars, seminars and meetings).
- Support roll out of our communication strategy.
- Provide research support on priority topics and advocacy issues.

More information about the internship, requirements and how to apply: https://biowatch.org.za/hiring-intern/

Closing date for applications: 14h00 on Friday, 17 April 2026

13/03/2026

NEW Biowatch Research Paper:
Smallholder farmers, school food gardens and South Africa's National School Nutrition Programme - a focus on KwaZulu-Natal
https://biowatch.org.za/download/national-school-nutrition-programme/

At least one in four South African children are stunted due to chronic malnutrition, and one in five households suffer some form of hunger. The South African Human Rights Commission has called this a moral and political crisis given that South Africa produces almost 20% more food than is needed to feed everyone. This month (March 2026) the Commission is holding a National Inquiry into the food systems of South Africa to scrutinise and find solutions to this contradiction.

Child malnutrition is of special concern. A submission to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) https://biowatch.org.za/download/submission-sahrc-right-to-food/ notes that this malnutrition includes stunting and wasting due to undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and rising obesity (roughly a third of under 19s) due to increasing reliance on nutrient-poor, highly processed foods.

Chronic undernutrition compromises children’s developing bodies and brains in ways that undermine their long-term health and ability to learn and develop, leading to intergenerational cycles of malnutrition, ill health and poverty. Rising obesity is driving an increase in Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and liver disease, which are becoming a leading cause of ill-health and death in sub–Saharan Africa.

One of the key government responses to childhood hunger has been the introduction of the child support grant as well as the National School Nutrition Programme (NSNP). The NSNP aims to enhance learners’ educational outcomes and health by ensuring access to nutritious meals, integrating nutrition education into the school curriculum, and promoting sustainable food production through school gardens.

The recently published Biowatch Research Paper by Sithandiwe Yeni explores whether the NSNP is meeting these goals, with a focus on KwaZulu-Natal. It also investigates the extent to which smallholder farmers are involved in the programme and the potential for agroecological produce to be supplied to the programme or grown in school gardens. Examples from Brazil, India and Ghana show that well-structured and adequately funded state programmes enable smallholder farmers to effectively supply schools with healthy, nutritious food. In return, they create local economies and contribute to broader livelihoods through secured markets for their produce.

The paper offers timely learnings as South Africa considers how better to ensure the constitutional right to food for South Africa’s children.

Download the Biowatch Research Paper here: https://biowatch.org.za/download/national-school-nutrition-programme/

20/12/2025

It was wonderful to experience Bonakude's first agroecological food festival today! Growing good food, nutrition, and people in Phatheni, Richmond.

20/12/2025

Bonakude's Food festival in full swing in Phatheni, Richmond. With an array of agroecological traditional foods to sample

27/11/2025

Such great news! Viva Kenyan farmers who have succesfully defended their Farmers Rights to save, exchange and sell their seed!

25/11/2025

15/11/2025

Rose Williams, Biowatch Director, will be presenting tomorrow, 15 November, at the annual Global Town Hall special session – “Listen to Us: Messages for G20 Leaders from Civil Societies Around the World” livestreamed between 14:50–15:50 (SAST). Register here: www.globaltownhall2025.com

The theme of this special session reflects South Africa’s G20 theme of “Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability”. Too often, civil society voices are relegated to advisory tracks such as the C20, with their recommendations overlooked in leaders’ communiqués and their role reduced to symbolism. This session seeks to amplifying civil society voices within the G20 process, underscoring the need for inclusive dialogue and a more representative agenda that reflects the concerns of global society.

The Global Town Hall is an annual virtual marathon of global dialogue that brings together leading minds from around the world to discuss major global issues. It provides an open, inclusive platform where decision-makers, thinkers, civil society leaders, and the broader public can engage in timely, solution-driven conversations.

The conference aims to connect local concerns with global discussions and elevate diverse perspectives. Register to join the day’s livestream 07:00–18:30 www.globaltownhall2025.com

A 15-hour North-South, East-West marathon virtual discussions for leading minds across the globe. Global Town Hall provides high-caliber discussions and debates on the state of the world involving leading minds worldwide. It aims to expose global citizens to various perspectives and ideas on address...

26/10/2025

Vanessa Black ( Biowatch) and Precious Phiri (Igugu Trust & the CSIPM focal point for southern Africa) at the 53rd plenary of the Committee for World Food Security at the FAO in Rome.

26/10/2025

Many states as well as the CSIPM also extended emotional appreciation for South African Ambassador, H.E. Nosipho Nausca-Jean Jezile, as she ended her mandate as the Committee on World Food Security Chair, thanking her for her exemplary leadership, diplomacy and warm professionalism in bringing the CFS together even in fraught negotiations. Prof. Anas A. Al-Nabulsi, Dean of Faculty of Agriculture and Professor of Food Microbiology and Safety, Jordan University of Science and Technology, is the incoming Chair for the next 2 years.

26/10/2025

The CFS also received the new HLPE report on Building Resilient Food Systems which provides excellent ground for the upcoming policy convergence process that will take place leading up to CFS54.

This HLPE-FSN report addresses the urgent need to enhance food system resilience amidst escalating environmental, political and economic challenges.

26/10/2025

The Plenary also endorsed the CFS Policy Recommendations on Strengthening Urban and Peri-urban Food Systems. These significantly note the rural to urban continuum and support for inclusive land tenure rights, participation, agency, and informal markets. Food sovereignty is mentioned and for the first time, ‘traditional gatherers’ are recognised. However, set-backs included unwillingness to explicitly mention women, recognition of the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples to self-determination and free, prior and informed consent. To add to the recommendations, the CSIPM have developed a Vision Document on Urban and Peri-Urban Food Systems, which gathers examples, and case studies from diverse regions and constituencies around the world, highlighting the experiences of those working to transform food systems in urban and peri-urban contexts. This focuses on the need to implement food system transformation at the local level, and the role of local governments in this regard.

"Transforming urban and peri-urban food systems means prioritizing agroecology, recognizing the rural-urban continuum, investing in territorial markets, ensuring gender justice and recognizing all forms of inequalities, and ensuring that data and research is inclusive, participatory, and considers d...