This study interrogates how incoherence between food trade policies and broader food system objectives shapes food security outcomes, with South Africa serving as a focal case, with two specific objectives: first, to identify the key factors inhibiting food trade policy coherence in SADC; and second, to assess the extent to which improved policy coherence can contribute to reducing inequality.

Employing a systematic literature review guided by PRISMA protocols, the analysis synthesises peer-reviewed studies, policy documents, and institutional reports published between 2004 and 2024. It draws its finding from a final selection of 62 studies.

With respect to Objective 1, the findings demonstrate that food trade policy coherence in SADC is constrained by fragmented institutional arrangements, misalignment between trade, agricultural, nutrition, and environmental policies, and uneven implementation of regional commitments at the national level. The review shows that trade liberalisation instruments, agricultural support measures, and food security strategies are often developed and implemented in silos, resulting in contradictory incentives that undermine sustainable food production, market stability, and smallholder participation. Structural constraints, including weak coordination platforms, limited data sharing, infrastructure bottlenecks, and asymmetric power relations within regional trade systems, further exacerbate policy incoherence.

In respect to Objective 2, the study finds that policy incoherence directly reinforces existing inequalities by marginalising smallholder farmers, increasing exposure to food price volatility, and limiting access to affordable and nutritious food for vulnerable populations. Conversely, evidence from the reviewed literature indicates that coherent food trade policies—when aligned with climate-smart agriculture, inclusive market access, and social protection measures—have the potential to reduce inequality by strengthening domestic production capacity, stabilising food markets, and supporting equitable participation in regional value chains.

Policy coherence therefore emerges as a critical mediating mechanism through which trade can contribute to more inclusive and sustainable food security outcomes rather than exacerbate socioeconomic disparities.

The authors propose a framework for enhancing South Africa’s food trade policy coherence in SADC as shown in the figure below.

They recommend that integrating food and nutrition objectives with broader food system priorities is essential. Promoting neglected and underutilised species, formally recognising urban and peri-urban agriculture, and adopting cross-sectoral strategies that link crops, livestock, disaster risk management, climate change, and the water–energy nexus will support sustainable and inclusive food security outcomes.