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UFS plant scientists receive prestigious SAPBA awards

10 June 2020 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied

Read More Collage — Prof Zakkie Pretorius, left, plays a significant role in providing pathology support to the plant breeding industry.Prof Liezel Herselman contributes to plant breeding in Southern Africa by training and mentoring the plant breeders of the future.

The Southern African Plant Breeders’ Association (SAPBA) recently bestowed prestigious awards upon Prof Zakkie Pretorius, Research Fellow in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), and Prof Liezel Herselman, Associate Professor in the same department. This institution strives to maintain high ethical standards and norms, contributing to stable, sustainable agriculture.

During the 13th Southern African Plant Breeders’ Association symposium, Prof Herselman was presented with a Fellow Award and Prof Pretorius with Honorary Membership. They received the awards for their services to and promotion of the SAPBA objectives, together with their exceptional contributions to plant breeding.

Provide food for the nation

Over the years, Prof Pretorius, who has extensive expertise in diseases of field crops – more specifically the rust diseases of small grain cereal crops – has played a significant role in providing pathology support to the plant breeding industry. He has also conducted ground-breaking pathology research on rust diseases in field crops. In 2019, he co-authored an article that appeared in Nature, the world’s leading multidisciplinary science journal. He is also shortlisted as a 2020 finalist in the Lifetime Award and Special Theme Award (Plant Health) of the National Science and Technology Forum. Furthermore, he regularly attended and participated in biennial conferences and supervised plant breeding students working on plant disease projects.

Prof Herselman contributes to plant breeding in Southern Africa by training and mentoring the plant breeders of the future. “As a lecturer of fourth-year and honours Plant Breeding students, as well as supervisor and promoter of master’s and doctoral students, I am in the fortunate position to teach and mentor my students in one of the newest fields of plant breeding, namely marker-assisted plant breeding. All future plant breeders need this knowledge to make a success of their breeding programmes. Our students are the future plant breeders who will provide food to the nation,” she says.

"As a plant pathologist, I am privileged to have been able to contribute to the quest for disease resistance in crop improvement and to have been recognised for it.” – Prof Zakkie Pretorius

The highest honour

Prof Pretorius view recognition by the industry – in this case, the plant breeding fraternity – as the highest honour for someone working in agricultural science. “As a plant pathologist, I am privileged to have been able to contribute to the quest for disease resistance in crop improvement and to have been recognised for it. I am also extremely grateful to colleagues and co-workers who have contributed over many years to the establishment of a productive and influential research group at the UFS,” he says.

Prof Herselman shares this sentiment. She says: “It means so much to me to know that I have made a difference and an impact on my students’ lives. It is a privilege to have the opportunity to work with under- and postgraduate students and to see them grow.”

She continues: “We strive to send out well-rounded students who can make a difference in the workplace and the community. This award means that I have succeeded in this goal, even though I do my work because I am passionate about it and not to receive recognition.”

Fight against fungal disease continues

Prof Pretorius continues to be involved in studies on host plant resistance and pathogenic variability.

As a molecular plant breeder, Prof Herselman is pushing on with research focusing on the development of wheat lines with improved disease resistance. The work that she is doing makes a difference on both national and international level. “As part of my current research programme, we have made rust- and Fusarium head blight-resistant wheat lines available to South African breeding companies for use in their breeding programmes. The lines developed at the UFS will in a small way contribute towards the fight against fungal diseases in South Africa, thus securing the yield and livelihoods of farmers and consumers,” she says.

Her master’s and doctoral students who have completed their studies, also take the knowledge they gained at the UFS back to their countries and workplaces where they ultimately add value, especially contributing towards the fight against hunger.

"“We strive to send out well-rounded students who can make a difference in the workplace and the community. This award means that I have succeeded in this goal, even though I do my work because I am passionate about it and not to receive recognition.” – Prof Liezel Herselman

News Archive

Resource Manual on Trafficking in Persons for Judicial Officers sees the light

2012-03-27

Judge Connie Mocumi, President of the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges (SAC-IAWJ), during the launch of the Resource Manual on Trafficking in Persons for Judicial Officers.
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs
27 March 2012

On Human Rights Day the Department of Criminal and Medical Law in the Faculty of Law at the University of the Free State (UFS) hosted the launch of the Resource Manual on Trafficking in Persons for Judicial Officers compiled by the South African Chapter of the International Association of Women Judges (SAC-IAWJ).

The manual, which will be used by members of the South African judiciary, will equip officials in adjudicating the multifaceted crime of human trafficking.

“Presiding officers must be sensitised about the complexity of the crime. Human trafficking has many faces and presents itself in different ways. A person may for example be trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour, the removal of body parts, as well as forced marriages. Expert knowledge is needed to handle these cases effectively in court,” said Dr Kruger, also responsible for the human trafficking initiative in the Unit for Children's Rights at the UFS.

Prior to the launch, a total number of 300 judicial officers, including six judges from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) received training on human trafficking. After receiving this training, the officers were sensitised to scrutinise domestic violence cases as well as inter-country adoption cases in order to identify possible human trafficking activities.

As keynote speaker at the launch, Dr Beatri Kruger from the Department of Criminal and Medical Law at the UFS, said that human traffickers were running operations like a well-oiled machine. They have abundant and sophisticated resources and often bribe corrupt officials to further their criminal activities. In South Africa, people combating human trafficking struggle with a lack of resources as well as comprehensive legislation. Most cases are prosecuted under the Children’s Act and the Sexual Offences Amendment Act of 2007. Unfortunately, this legislation still leaves a gap in the prosecuting of perpetrators. Only trafficking cases where where children are trafficked can be prosecuted under the Children’s Act. In terms of the Sexual Offences Amendment Act perpetrators can be prosecuted for trafficking persons for sexual exploitation only, and not for labour of other forms of trafficking. Therefore the comprehensive Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill 2010 needs to be finalised to cover all forms of trafficking.

There are more slaves today than at any time in the history of humankind. “To combat this serious problem, we need to follow a holistic approach,” said Dr Kruger. This includes prevention (raising awareness), effective prosecution and suitable punishment, the protection of victims, and partnering with all relevant stakeholders, including people in the communities. Community members are often whistle blowers of this crime.

The President of the SAC-IAWJ, Judge Connie Mocumi, handed copies of the manual, a three-year project, to judicial officers present at the launch. The manual covers, among others, the definition of trafficking in persons, trafficking in persons in South Africa and the Southern African region, a legislative framework, victims’ rights and criminal proceedings.

“It is critical that judicial officers appreciate the phenomenon of trafficking in persons in its broader socio-economic context. Therein lays the ability to deal competently with the often-nuanced manifestation of this scourge. The incapacity to recognise these nuances can deny victims access to justice. In that regard, the manual, amongst others, is to become an important empowering adjudication tool for judicial officers,” said Judge Mocumi.

More copies will be printed and be ready for distribution by the beginning of May this year.

Judge Belinda van Heerden, who also attended the launch, said: “There is progress on the judicial and legislative front to bring wrongdoers to book. This manual will go a long way in giving judicial officers insight into the problem.”

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