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Congress Programme

Congress sheds light on fundamentals of sustainable agriculture

22 January 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Leonie Bolleurs

Soil Confrence at UFS — At the Combined Congress with the theme ‘Basic and applied sciences – Fundamentals of sustainable agriculture’, were from the left: Prof Klaus Kellner, Prof Prakash Naidoo, Dr Cobus Botha from the Agriculture Research Council, Prof Vaughan Hattingh, and Mr Matome Ramokgopa.

“We are at the beginning of a new decade that will in all likelihood be pivotal for aspects such as food security, climate change, and the sustainable use of natural resources – aspects that the societies you represent are of course keenly involved with – and in terms of which you can play an increasingly valuable role.”

These were the words of Vice-Rector: Operations at the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof Prakash Naidoo, on opening a Combined Congress of the Soil Science Society of South Africa (SSSSA), the South African Society of Crop Production (SASCP), the Southern African Weed Science Society (SAWSS), and the Southern African Society for Horticultural Sciences (SASHS).

The UFS Department of Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences is hosting the congress, with scientific content of four disciplines (soil, crop, weed, and horticulture) presented by both local and international guest speakers.

The theme of this year’s congress taking place on the UFS Bloemfontein Campus, is Basic and applied sciences – Fundamentals of sustainable agriculture.

Prof Naidoo continues: “It has been predicted that the world will need almost double the current food supply by 2050 to feed an ever-increasing world population. This clearly makes the scientific work done in the agricultural sector and the organisations affiliated with it, more vital than ever. We need to do what we can to ensure food security and sustainability.”

“A congress like yours is an opportunity to tap into the perspectives and research results of collaborators from different fields, and from different levels of skill and experience – with the aim of ultimately benefiting wider communities.”

Leader in agriculture sector

Prof Vaughan Hattingh, representing SASHS (Chief Executive Officer of Citrus Research International); Mr Matome Ramokgopa, representing SASCP (General Manager of Enza Zanden SA); and Prof Klaus Kellner, representing SSSSA (Department of Botany at the North-West University), delivered the combined opening address.

Prof Hattingh, speaking on ‘Industry–University partnership opportunity road ahead for horticultural research’, says citrus is a major horticultural product internationally and the biggest horticultural export from South Africa. The citrus industry, the second largest exporter of citrus in the world, generates R20 bn per year and is the biggest funder of research in this area.

Prof Hattingh states that university partnerships, developing science to assist the industry, are key. “The future of horticultural industries and horticultural research at universities depends on successful university-industry partnerships.”

Mr Ramokgopa talked about ‘Innovative solutions for vegetable seed production for a growing population’, saying that Enza Zanden employed several techniques in vegetable production in response to the needs of retailers and consumers. These include smaller tomatoes (for snacking purposes), smaller leaf size of lettuce (thus a smaller area for decay), plastic-free packaging of cucumber with a longer shelf life, and more uniform onions (suitable for onion rings).

Prof Kellner focused on ‘Scientifically sound policies and practices to ensure food security and sustainable agriculture’. He said: “It is getting warmer in Southern Africa and Europe. We need to realise it and adapt practices accordingly.”

More discussions on sustainable agriculture

Other interesting topics covered at the congress include, ‘Developing propagation technologies for indigenous plants used in the natural products industry’; ‘The influence of foliar and application rate of nitrogen fertiliser on seed and oil yield of canola’; ‘Sweet potato production in sacks: potential utilisation of limited space in rural, urban and peri-urban areas’; ‘The efficacy of postharvest wax application in the reduction of chilling injury incidence in lemon fruit’; and ‘Herbicide use within the commercial forestry sector in South Africa’.

Congress attendees can also look forward to the ‘Soil fertility and crop nutrition symposium: principles and practices’ on Wednesday 22 January 2020.

The congress kicked off on 21 January, and will come to an end on Thursday 23 January 2020. For more information on the sessions, see programme.

News Archive

Getting out of the dark

2015-04-28

Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

Since 2008, the University of the Free State has been busy with the planning and implementation of projects to reduce the impact of load shedding. To date, the cost of these projects has run to R6 million. They have been done primarily to ensure that the academic programme does not suffer damage as a result of the increasing interruptions in the power supply that are continuing this year.

The university’s greatest concern has been the provision of emergency power to the lecture halls and laboratories.

Thus far, 35 generators are servicing 55 buildings on the three campuses of the UFS. This includes 26 generators on the Bloemfontein Campus, eight on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State, and one generator on the South Campus in Bloemfontein. The generators are already in service, and are maintained in working order.

Since 2010, the university has also ensured that all newly-built academic buildings are equipped with emergency power supplies.

On the South Campus in Bloemfontein, the new lecture-hall building and the computer laboratory are equipped with emergency power, while the installation of emergency generators in other buildings is under way. The majority of the buildings on the Qwaqwa Campus in the Eastern Free State are equipped with emergency power supplies.

In the meantime, the UFS management has approved a further R11 million for the installation of additional generators on the three campuses. A further R1.5 million has also been approved for the purchase of two mobile generators.

To extend the work already done, the main task will be the installation of more generators on the Bloemfontein Campus to ensure that lecture halls with emergency power will be available for the centrally-arranged timetables, and to ensure that more of the critical laboratories will be provided with emergency power.

There are still some important buildings and halls on the Bloemfontein Campus that must be supplied with emergency power. However, it is a costly process and must be brought into operation gradually. The further implementation of emergency power depends on the delivery of equipment. The university is also investigating alternative solutions for power provisioning, including solar power.

Generators with spare capacity are optimally deployed to satisfy the lower needs of the campus, including the Odeion, the ANNEX at Microbiology, the Stabilis ANNEX, the Agriculture Building, the UV-Sasol library, and the Francois Retief Building.

In addition, the UFS is busy on all campuses, coupling area lighting, including

street lights and pedestrian walkways, to existing generators. Procedures for the operation of mechanical equipment, such as entrance gates, lifts, and so on, are currently being dealt with on all campuses. Continuous power sources for certain ICT equipment will be installed on all campuses to protect it against power surges.

Staff and students can also equip themselves with the necessary knowledge to manage load shedding in their specific areas of work and study. It is always helpful to know who to contact. The following list with guidelines and contact numbers has been compiled to assist you:

1. In an emergency, call Protection Services. This line will continue to operate, regardless of whether the power is on or off.
2. Avoid using lifts just before planned load shedding. Some lifts have emergency power packs which will bring the lift to the nearest floor and open the doors. If you still get stuck in a lift during a power outage, use your cellphone to call Protection Services. While you're waiting, stay calm and be patient.
3. If the access control systems in your building stop working after load shedding, contact Protection Services.
4. The students and staff members who are most at risk during load shedding are those in wheelchairs or with other mobility limitations. As far as possible, plan ahead to avoid being stuck on a floor or in a room that is difficult to access when load shedding is imminent. Please contact Protection Services if you need assistance.
5. During a fire, alarms WILL go off. Alarms are not power driven, but battery driven. For assistance, contact Protection Services.
6. The main UFS Switchboard (Bloemfontein Campus +27(0)51 401 9111 and Qwaqwa Campus +27(0)58 718 5000) will continue to operate during load shedding.

Contact details of Protection Services:

Bloemfontein Campus: +27(0)51 401 2634/2911
Qwaqwa Campus: +27(0)58 508 5460/5175
South Campus: +27(0)51 5051217

Communication and Brand Management will make information available on the UFS web, Facebook page, Twitter, Blackboard and the intranet. Get the load shedding schedule from Eskom’s webpage (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.za/). The Bloemfontein Campus falls in group 4 and the South Campus falls in group 2 in Centlec’s load shedding schedule.

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