Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Categories
UFS News Media Release Research
Years
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Months
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Previous Archive
13 August 2018
Proteas next goal for Khanyisa
Khanyisa Chawane is going places with her netball career. She finds inspiration from God and the people she surrounds herself with.
Netballer Khanyisa Chawane singles out friends, teammates and her Kovsie coach as the ones who have had the biggest hand in promoting her career.

“Coach Burta de Kock has had an impact on me as a player and person. She took me in, groomed me and taught me the ins and outs of becoming the player I am today,” Chawane says.

They picked me up when I was down

“Maryka Holtzhausen (Free State teammate) has played quite a role in my career as a teammate and mentor. Tiisetso Mashele is a very good friend who has always been there to lend a helping hand during the tough times and remind me where my strength comes from. Then there’s Khomotso Mamburu and Sikholiwe Mdletshe who’ve become more than teammates. They understand me and always manage to pick me up when I’m down and there’s never a dull moment when they are around.”

At the age of 22 Chawane is making huge strides on the netball court.

Crowned player of the tournament

Hardly a month after she was named Player of the Tournament of the Brutal Fruit Netball Premier League, her performances at the National Championship mid-July earned her the Player of the Tournament once more. She is the first player to receive these accolades at both these tournaments in the same year. 

“The people I surround myself with keep me motivated in every aspect of my life. The grace of God upon my life is what inspires me to keep going. 

“I would love to represent the Proteas at the Quad Series and Diamond Challenge later this year and also to win the Varsity Netball Series,” Chawane says about future goals.  

 

Video production: Barend Nagel

News Archive

A mind shift needed in agriculture in Africa
2010-12-02

Prof. Frans Swanepoel (Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development), Prof. Monty Jones, Prof. Driekie Hay (Vice-Rector: Teaching and Learning), Prof. Alice Pell (Cornell University, USA), and Prof. Izak Groenewald (Director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development) at the inaugural lecture of Prof. Jones as Professor Extraordinary. 
- Photo: Stephen Collett

Food stability is essential for stability in all countries around the world. Radical interventions, and not incremental changes, are necessary to end hunger and poverty in Africa, said Prof. Monty Jones, Professor Extraordinary in the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development at the University of the Free State (UFS), in his inaugural lecture.

Prof. Jones is Executive Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA) and Chairperson of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR). In his lecture he focused on the contribution of agricultural research to development and food security in Sub- Saharan Africa.

He said Africa is not known for good politics to promote food production. Countries under invest in research, education, knowledge management, agriculture finance, etc. There is also uncertain and restricted access to land. He specially mentioned women’s access.

Sub- Sahara Africa moved from being a net exporter of food to a net importer of food (28%). “Government spending on agriculture and transport went down and stagnated. A mind shift is necessary. Africa has the resources. We must take advantage of the opportunities,” he said, and added: “Africa must create visionary and inspirational leaders and managers who can drive developmental issues.”

Prof. Jones emphasised that fact that nutritional security is just as important as food security. The number of hungry people has grown to more than a billion in 2009. Hunger is the most severe in the developing world, especially Africa. Added to this is Africa’s population growth that i s also higher than the rest of the world. It is estimated that the demand for food in Africa will double in the next 40 years.

“Research and development alone cannot win the war against hunger in Africa. Everyone has a role to play,” he said.
– Leatitia Pienaar.

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept