Could the roofs of low cost houses be South Africa’s secret weapon against hunger?

South Africa’s hunger crisis is no longer a distant warning. Millions of poor households are forced to choose between food, electricity, transport and water every month. The country also faces worsening climate shocks, such as floods, heatwaves, drought and growing water scarcity.

‘RDP’ houses.

Kimberly Mutandiro/GroundUp

Yet one of South Africa’s most overlooked food security solutions may already exist above the heads of millions of poor households. These are the rooftops of what’s known locally as RDP houses (small, 40m², government subsidised dwellings built under the government’s Reconstruction and Development Programme after the end of apartheid). There are over 3.5 million across South Africa.

Could the roofs of low cost houses be South Africa’s secret weapon against hunger?

Could the roofs of low cost houses be South Africa’s secret weapon against hunger?

Other newsrooms on this story

Related reading

Building Resilient Food Systems From the Ground Up - African Business

South Africa's housing crisis: the overlooked issue of land availability

Hunger in South Africa is not a food problem – it is a systems problem

Food price pressures deepen as civil society warns of growing hunger crisis

One in five households in the Western Cape face hunger as fuel costs soar

South Africans hit hard by the rising cost of living

Other newsrooms on this story

Related reading

Building Resilient Food Systems From the Ground Up - African Business

South Africa's housing crisis: the overlooked issue of land availability

Hunger in South Africa is not a food problem – it is a systems problem

Food price pressures deepen as civil society warns of growing hunger crisis

One in five households in the Western Cape face hunger as fuel costs soar

South Africans hit hard by the rising cost of living