DURING a recent visit to Zambia and Malawi, I saw first hand the food shortages facing Southern Africa. Livelihoods have been steadily eroded over the past two decades by a number of ‘entangled' causes that include economic stagnation, a lack of jobs, adverse climatic factors, environmental degradation and, more recently, the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS. Ten to 12 million people are affected across Southern Africa.