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25 May 2018 Photo Supplied
Kovsies back Margo as Miss SA Top-12 finalist
#MargoForMissSA

Co-director of the non-profit organisation A&M Foundation, hair influencer at Shea Moisture South Africa, part-time teacher and mentor, Margo Fargo said: “I come from a community and background that doesn’t necessarily have all the resources and opportunities for me to be in this position, but that gives me hope, and I have faith that it will encourage someone to believe that it is possible to achieve what you set your mind to, and work for it despite the circumstances.”

Kovsie’s very own Margo Fargo strikes the iron while it’s hot, as she competes in the Miss South Africa Beauty Pageant as a top-12 finalist.

UFS alumni have developed a knack for achieving admirable accomplishments, and Fargo is standing by to take the flight to new heights.

When asked what makes her stand out, the BSc Consumer Sciences honours graduate replied, “My story; no two contestants are the same physically and intellectually, we are all so different and the fact that I am myself sets me apart.”

Fargo believes that Miss South Africa needs to be a leader in countless ways, having a formidable but teachable spirit to continually grow through encounters and experiences. She feels that the candidate should be unapologetic for who she is and be strong-willed, as she represents many people as well as an entire nation. Fargo strongly believes that the Miss South Africa Beauty Pageant is an important institute in the country, as it aids women with characteristic traits and mechanisms that enable them to make a visible and worthy difference in their communities.

“I come from a community and background
that doesn’t necessarily have all the
resources and opportunities for me
to be in this position, but that gives
me hope, and I have faith that
it will motivate someone else
to believe that it is possible
to achieve what, you set
your mind to, and work for it
despite the circumstances.”
—Margo Fargo

The 25-year-old from Heidedal, Bloemfontein, explained that breaking into the pageant industry made her feel like a fish out of water. Fargo found great difficulty throughout the journey to this point in her life; however, she stressed that the rejection she was subjected to was brutal but very much needed, as it has given her a thick skin. She also emphasised the honour it was to be associated with an organisation of the calibre of the Miss South Africa Beauty Pageant.

Fargo dreams of herself as a well-established brand, with her own businesses, doing compelling work that creates sustainable jobs in industries including wellness, entertainment, and working with people. She concluded by saying, “We need each other, for we are stronger together.” The university is proud to count Fargo among its alumni, and the Kovsie community wishes her all the best in this adventure.

News Archive

UFS leads the way with GMO testing
2003-08-25

A formal agreement linking Africa’s first testing facility for genetically modified organisms (GMO) to an international organization was signed at the University of the Free State.

According to the manager of the GMO testing facility, Dr Chris Viljoen of the Department of Plant Sciences, the facility is now part of GeneScan, a world leader in food diagnostic testing, which has its headquarters in Germany with subsidiaries in the Unites States, Brazil and Hong Kong.

The facility at the UFS has been selected by the second largest international food company to do all its South African GMO testing for export products.

The GMO testing facility is the brainchild of Dr Viljoen, who is a specialist in the field of marker biotechnology and its applications in crop science.

He says the need for such a testing facility arose due to the international regulations on GMOs in food, especially Europe and Asia that requires South African exporters to certify whether their products contain any GMO.

“The regulations in Europe and Asia reflect a consumer need for choice in what they eat due to concerns over the safety of GMOs, as well as environmental and ethical issues. GMO testing and labelling allow consumers the right of choice to eat genetically modified foods or not. According to EU regulations, any product with a GMO content of 1% or higher is labelled as containing GMO.”

According to Dr Viljoen only four products in South Africa are currently GMO. They are white and yellow maize that have been made insect resistant, soya bean that is herbicide tolerant and insect resistant cotton. He says that the awareness of GMOs among South Africans is still very limited, especially in poorer communities, but it is likely to increase with the efforts being made in consumer education by government, seed companies and NGOs.

The testing facility has been established to accommodate the local as well as international market. The GMO testing at the UFS facility is performed using real time PCR, the most advanced means of GMO detection currently available, and using GeneScan developed technology that is recognized worldwide.
 

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