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04 October 2018 | Story UFS | Photo UFS
Prof Ashok Chapagain, recently appointed as Senior
Prof Ashok Chapagain, recently appointed as Senior Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State, is looking forward to working with key water-related sectors.
Prof Ashok Chapagain has recently been appointed as Senior Professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS). 

Water hub key in collaborations with research institutes

According to Prof Chapagain, the position provides a unique opportunity to help establish the university at the forefront of water research in South Africa. He is looking forward to cross-departmental collaborations on innovative research projects working with key water-related sectors, such as agriculture, business, mining etc., and establishing a water hub that would be key in external collaborations with other research institutes in South Africa and beyond.

Prior to his formal appointment at the UFS, Prof Chapagain has been remotely involved with the Department of Agricultural Economics since 2017 through his support to a number of research projects funded by the Water Research Commission (WRC). 

He is experienced in managing and coordinating international and interdisciplinary projects, ensuring technical quality and project delivery. He has vast cultural and geographical work experience, and specific water-related experience in the fields of integrated water resource management, water footprint assessment, industrial and agricultural efficiency and sustainability, irrigation, hydrology and watershed modelling, flood-risk management, river-basin planning and management, and environmental impact assessment. He has recently left the Water Footprint Network (The Netherlands), where he worked in the capacity of Science Director. Prior to joining the WFN, Prof Chapagain worked as Senior Water Adviser at WWF-UK for about six years.

Systems approach to address water issues

Prof Chapagain holds a PhD in the field of Water Resources Management and Policy Analysis from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands), an MSc degree in Water and Environmental Resources Management from UNESCO- IHE Institute for Water Education (The Netherlands), and a Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering from IIT Roorkee (India). His professional career of 28 years can be broadly grouped under two inter-related blocks: development projects for 10 years (as an irrigation engineer in Nepal); research and application for 18 years (academia for eight years and applied work for 10 years in the Netherlands and UK). During his MSc and PhD research, he specialised in water resources and environmental management, integrated river-basin management, policy analysis, and systems analysis.

He regularly reviews articles for several scientific journals. Currently he serves as the Editor-in-Chief for the recently launched open access scientific journal H2Open, published by IWA Publishing. In addition, he serves as editor for five scientific journals, and frequently guest edits specific issues for peer-reviewed scientific journals. He has published four books, and 64 other articles and reports (25 scientific journal articles, 40 papers in conference proceedings, book chapters, and technical reports). His publications are widely cited, with 10 436 citations, and has an h-index of 34 and i10-index of 44. He applies a system approach in addressing issues on water, energy, and food securities, where managing local resources also includes global dimensions where key stakeholders are often cross-sectoral and situated outside the boxes. He has been involved in many national and international projects as a team leader, project leader, and international expert in several Asian, European, and South American countries.

For more information about Prof Chapagain and his role in the Department of Agricultural Economics, please contact Prof Chapagain at ChapagainAK@ufs.ac.za, or Dr Frikkie Maré at MareFA@ufs.ac.za or +27 51 401 2824 

News Archive

New challenges for animal science discussed
2006-04-04

Some of the guests attending the congress were from the left Dr Heinz Meissner (honorary president of the South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) and senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council), Mr Paul Bevan (President of SASAS) and Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS).
Photo: Lacea Loader

New challenges for animal science discussed  

The South African Society for Animal Science (SASAS) is presenting its 41st Congress at the University of the Free State’s (UFS) Main Campus in Bloemfontein. 

The congress started yesterday and will run until Thursday 6 April 2006.  The theme is New challenges for the animal science industries.

It is one of the largest congresses in the 45 years since SASAS was founded in 1961.  Among the delegates 12 African countries are represented, with the biggest delegation from Kenya.  Delegates are also from the United States of America, Iran, Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal and African countries like Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Botswana.

“Many of our members play an important role in the training of animal scientists at universities.  The congress is specifically industry orientated so that scientists can interact with farmers through the respective producer organisations,” said Prof HO de Waal, Chairperson of the organising committee and lecturer at the UFS Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences.

According to Dr Heinz Meissner, honorary president of SASAS and a senior manager at the Animal Production Institute of the Agricultural Research Council, the National Livestock Strategy (NLS) Plan clarifies the role and responsibility of the livestock sector. 

“Through this strategy we need to focus on enhancing equitable access and participation in livestock agriculture, improve global competitiveness and profitability of the livestock sector and ensure that the ventures implemented do not over utilise our resources,” said Dr Meissner.

In her welcoming address, Prof Magda Fourie, Vice-Rector:  Academic Planning at the UFS highlighted the related challenges that the UFS will be focusing on specifically over the next five years.  “We have identified five strategic clusters that represent broad areas of excellence in research and post-graduate education.  Two of these are food production, quality and safety for Africa and sustainable development,” she said.

“The food safety and security cluster will focus on the production of food in all its varieties within the African context, encompassing the entire value chain – from production to consumption and nutrition related issues.  This would include a strong emphasis on sustainable production systems,” she said.

According to Prof Fourie the rural development cluster will engage in questions around the role of higher education in sustainable development.  “One of the focus areas in this strategic cluster pertains to sustainable livelihoods.  It refers to a way of approaching development that incorporates all aspects of human livelihoods and means by which people obtain them,” she said.

Prof Fourie said that the challenges we are facing such as food production can only be effectively addressed through collaborative efforts.  “That is why it is important that collaboration takes place between different scientific disciplines, researchers, institutions and countries who are confronted with similar difficulties,” she said.

According to Prof de Waal the congress will give key role players a unique opportunity to present a profile of what they perceive an animal scientist should be and state their specific requirement regarding the animal sciences and its applications. 

“In this way we can determine what the industry’s needs are and we can re-align our curriculum to suit these needs,” said Prof de Waal.

During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed.  This includes ruminant and monogastric nutrition, animal physiology, beef, dairy, sheep and ostrich breeding and sustainable farming covering the range from commercial to the small-scale farming level.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
4 April 2006

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