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27 August 2021 | Story Lacea Loader
The University of the Free State (UFS), in partnership with Standard Bank and the Mangaung Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is pleased to invite you to a special lunchtime webinar with:

• Mr Tommie van Zyl (CEO of ZZ2);
• Mr Wandile Sihlobo (Chief Economist of AgBiz); and
• Mr Nico Groenewald (Head of Agriculture, Standard Bank).
 
Join us for a discussion on the state of South African agriculture, the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, and how farmers and agri-businesses can respond to the opportunities and challenges in the agricultural sector. 
 
Date: 9 September 2021
Time: 12:30 to 14:00 (via Zoom)
RSVP: Alicia Pienaar at PienaarAN1@ufs.ac.za by 7 September 2021

Bios of panellists:


Mr Tommie van Zyl is the Chief Executive Officer of the ZZ2 farming group. He studied Agriculture and Commerce at Stellenbosch University before completing his postgraduate studies at the University of Florida in the USA. Currently, he serves as director on various boards and was the director and vice-chairman of the USA-based PMA (Produce Marketing Association), as well as the chairman of the Agricultural Produce Agents Council (APAC) for seven years. He has received numerous awards, including a Fulbright scholarship, a Gamma Sigma Delta award, and an honorary medal from the South African Academy of Science. During the twenty years that Mr Van Zyl held the position of Chief Executive of ZZ2, the farm has grown extensively from the family farm that his father began. They produce tomatoes, onions, avocados, mangoes, deciduous fruit, cherries, almonds, blueberries, Medjool dates, and cattle on farms across South Africa and Namibia. Mr Van Zyl, who is fluent in Sesotho, is positive by nature and is actively involved in community development. He believes that farming in South Africa has a bright future if changes are managed purposefully and thoughtfully.  
Mr Wandile Sihlobo is the Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz). He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from the University of Fort Hare and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics from Stellenbosch University. He is the author of Finding Common Ground: Land, Equity, and Agriculture published by Pan Macmillan in March 2020. He is also a Visiting Research Fellow at the Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, and a columnist for Business Day and Farmer’s Weekly. In 2019, Mr Sihlobo was appointed as a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Presidential Economic Advisory Council after serving on the Presidential Expert Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture between 2018 and 2019. He is also a member of the Council of Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) and a Commissioner at the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa (ITAC).

Mr Nico Groenewald has been the Head of Agribusiness for Standard Bank’s business and commercial clients since 2014. He graduated with a BScAgric from the University of Pretoria in 1988 and completed an MBA at the North-West University in 1997. Mr Groenewald began his career with Standard Bank in 1990 as a junior agricultural adviser before joining an agribusiness (VKB) in 1991 as an agricultural economist focusing on production economics. In 1997, he re-joined Standard Bank as an agricultural credit evaluation manager. From 2005 onwards, Groenewald fulfilled several management roles in the agricultural business, as well as credit functions within Standard Bank before being appointed in his current position. He is also a member of the steering committee of Agbiz, a reputable national organisation that represents agribusiness in South Africa, as well as Standard Bank’s representative on the Agricultural Committee of the Banking Association South Africa.

News Archive

Community of Qwaqwa gives Prof Petersen a warm Basotho welcome
2017-05-16

 

 Description: Prof Petersen with Basotho hat and blanket Tags: Prof Petersen with Basotho hat and blanket

 Prof Francis Petersen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State
Photo: Ian van Straaten

Photo Gallery
Video

Various stakeholders pledged their support to the newly-appointed Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS), Prof Francis Petersen, during the first in a series of welcoming events that was held at the Qwaqwa Campus on Thursday 11 May 2017.

A message of support and welcome from the Paramount Queen of the Bakoena Royal Council, Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli, took everybody in attendance back three decades to the time when the campus was first established.

“The Qwaqwa Campus of the then University of the North was created to swell this area and the broader Eastern Free State with intellectual capacity,” she said.

“It is with this in mind that we encourage you, Prof Petersen, to continue upholding the best of your predecessors. Search for what they could not achieve and learn from that. Traditional leadership in this area will always be a friend to the university,” she added.

Description: Community of Qwaqwa gives Prof Petersen a warm Basotho welcome Tags: Community of Qwaqwa gives Prof Petersen a warm Basotho welcome

Prof Petersen received a warm Basotho
welcome from Morena Thokoana Mopeli and
Paramount Queen Mofumahadi Mathokoana Mopeli of
the Bakoena Royal Council. With them is
Mrs Cheslyn Petersen.
Photo: Thabo Kessah

The Thabo Mofutsanyana Education District was represented by the Acting District Director, Lindiwe Mabaso, who expressed the district’s pride in being associated with the university.

“Our district is excelling in Mathematics and Science, and this can be attributed to the educators that we get from the Qwaqwa Campus. We are proud to say that we are number one nationally when it comes to Mathematics and Science, and this is through the support we get from the campus. Our schools will continue to be centres of excellence under the new leadership of Prof Petersen,” she said.

Staff and students weigh in

Both Nehawu and Uvpersu expressed their optimism in working with Prof Petersen.

Branch chairperson of Nehawu, Teboho Pitso, said the union appreciated the fact that Prof Petersen was taking over the leadership of the institution at a very difficult time, both institutionally and nationally.

“As workers, we are faced with a lot of challenges and we hope that none of us will be retrenched under your leadership,” he said to an appreciative audience consisting of various internal and external stakeholders.

Acting Chairperson of UVPERSU, Khethiwe Biyo, said the workers’ union was happy that Prof Petersen believed in teamwork.

“Your commitment in working with us is appreciated. We look forward to learning from you about institutional innovation,” she said.

Students were represented by the Qwaqwa Campus SRC President, Njabulo Mwali, who expressed the need for a deeper and detailed transformation process.

“Your expertise and skills have set you above all other aspirant applicants for this position, and we hope that we will learn a lot on this journey,” he said.

“We at the UFS are actively, intentionally,
and continuously engaged in promoting
diversity.”

"Ensure fairness" 

In his response, Prof Petersen emphasised the importance of inclusivity and innovativeness. He said, “Staff and students at the three sites of learning must do all they can to ensure that the UFS realises its goal of being an inclusive institution, one that provides equal access and opportunities to everyone, makes a conscious effort to prevent discrimination, and ensure fairness.”

“Being committed to inclusivity means that we at the UFS are actively, intentionally, and continuously engaged in promoting diversity. This diversity is expressed through our people and through the curriculum, and in the way we work with our communities to promote awareness, empathy, and understanding of the complex ways individuals interact. As you know, our ultimate goal as a university is not only to educate young people up to the point that they graduate. What they learn during their time with us should help shape them into people who can think innovatively in order to address the challenges that face us in the 21st century,” he said.

The Qwaqwa Campus Chorale and the award-winning choir from The Beacon Secondary School in Phuthaditjhaba provided the entertainment.

Similar events will respectively be hosted on the South and Bloemfontein Campuses on 18 and 19 May 2017.

 

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