Improved food security is an essential element of household well-being in a sustainable livelihood.
This paper seeks to provide evidence for supporting vulnerable households including investing in smallholder
agriculture to achieve food security among food insecure households in Southern African Development Community.
It uses secondary data from various sources to explore the extent of vulnerability to food insecurity, its underlying
causes, existing constraints and opportunities to improve households’ welfare and food security status. The paper
points to the importance of smallholder agricultural production, social protection and development policies in
combating vulnerability to food insecurity. It also points to the importance of understanding the heterogeneity of
households, their interactions with resources and the role of policies in improving households’ welfare.