Methodology | AgriSA Food Security Index

6-Pillar Framework

The FSI measures food security across six dimensions, each weighted by its relative importance to South Africa's food security landscape. Weights were determined through expert consultation and literature review.

Availability

20%

Measures domestic food production sufficiency across field crops, livestock, vegetables, and fruits.

4 indicatorsReal data

Access

25%

Measures household ability to obtain food through employment, pricing, social grants, and school feeding.

4 indicatorsReal data

Utilization

15%

Measures ability to use food safely, including water access, sanitation, and food safety.

3 indicatorsReal data

Stability

20%

Measures consistency of food access over time through food adequacy and climate shock resilience.

2 indicatorsReal data

Sustainability

15%

Measures environmental conditions for long-term food production, including water quality, energy security, and farm profitability.

5 indicatorsReal data

Governance

5%

Measures institutional governance quality including corruption control, political stability, regulatory quality, and agricultural insurance coverage.

7 indicatorsReal data

Scoring Methodology

1. Normalization

Raw data is normalized to a 0-100 scale using min-max normalization with historical bounds. This allows comparison across diverse indicators (percentages, rates, absolute values).

Score = (X - X_min) / (X_max - X_min) × 100

2. Directionality

All indicators are aligned so that higher values = better food security. Negative indicators (e.g., unemployment, food prices) are inverted before normalization.

Inverted = 100 - Normalized_Score

3. Weighted Aggregation

Indicator scores are aggregated within pillars using indicator weights, then pillar scores are aggregated into the composite FSI using pillar weights.

FSI = Σ(Pillar_i × Weight_i)

Interactive Weight Explorer

Adjust the pillar weights to see how they affect the composite score. This is for educational purposes only — the official weights are fixed.

Adjust Pillar Weights

Availability20%

Access25%

Utilization15%

Stability20%

Sustainability15%

Governance5%

Your Custom Score

54.3

Official score:54.3

Data Source Inventory

25 indicators across 6 pillars. 13 directly measured, 4 derived from food.agrisa.io research. Click any row to see the underlying datapoints.

	Indicator	Pillar	Source	Frequency	Description

Data Quality Framework

Active

Data point is actively tracked with regular updates (quarterly or more frequent).

Episodic

Data is available but updated irregularly (annually or less frequent).

Missing

No data currently available. The data source has been identified but not yet connected.

Outdated

Data exists but has not been updated within the expected timeframe.

Dual-Score Interpretation

FSI Score (0-100)

The composite food security score based on weighted aggregation of all pillar scores. Higher is better. Ranges: Critical (<30), Low (30-45), Moderate (45-55), Good (55-70), Excellent (70+).

Confidence Score (0-100%)

Measures data completeness — the proportion of data points that are actively tracked. A high FSI score with low confidence means the score is based on incomplete data and should be interpreted cautiously.

How We Compare

Dimension	Shoprite	GFSI	AgriSA FSI
Transparency	Methodology in published reports	Partial	Full: all weights, formulas, data sources published
Drillability	National + provincial scores	Country-level only	5 levels: National → Province → Pillar → Indicator → Data Point
Sub-national	Provincial breakdowns published	National only	All 9 provinces independently scored
Data confidence	Not disclosed	Not disclosed	Data completeness tracking (active/episodic/missing)
Agriculture focus	Consumer-oriented	General food security	Agriculture-rooted with value chain + subsector analysis
Format	Static PDF report	Interactive website	Interactive dashboard with drill-down capability
Coverage	4 pillars	4 pillars, 68 indicators	6 pillars, 25 indicators, 9 provinces
Time series	Annual, tracked since 2012	Annual	Mixed: quarterly & annual, 2010–2024 (varies by indicator)

Related Research Tools

Food Price Analytics Dashboard

Detailed food price trend analysis 2015–2025, provincial coverage gaps, and CPI tracking that feeds the Price Volatility indicator.

Food Security Programmes Database

35 food security programmes (R263.1B budget, 107M beneficiaries) that feed the Governance pillar indicators.

Data Sources & References

The AgriSA Food Security Index draws on data from government departments, parastatals, industry bodies, and international organisations. Each source is independently verifiable.