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14 December 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Ofhani Mavhungu was recently awarded the Professor Rob Gous Scholarship by the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) of South Africa.

From a very early age, Ofhani Mavhungu knew he wanted to be involved in agriculture one day. Fast forward a few decades and you find Ofhani enrolled for the MScAgric Animal Science degree at the University of the Free State (UFS).

As a goal-orientated person who is open to new ventures, he reckons this degree will broaden his knowledge and understanding of the industry. “I believe Animal Science is an interdisciplinary field of study that enables students like me to pursue various career opportunities, ranging from primary animal production to secondary product processing, retail, and quality assurance. This motivates me to be part of the team that will ensure food security for the future generation,” says Ofhani.

Opening doors to a career in Animal Science

The Professor Rob Gous Scholarship for 2020/2021 that was jointly awarded to him and Victor Makofane of the University of Limpopo by the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) of South Africa, is for Ofhani a step closer to realising his dreams. 

“Diligence and hard work have always been the driving force throughout my studies, and I am delighted that my hard work was rewarded. This award further reflects on the Department of Animal Science’s dedication and commitment to build and mentor strong candidates who are recognised by the industry,” he says.

With increasing animal feed costs, the search for more cost-effective feed utilisation techniques – without compromising the nutritive value or feed quality – becomes critically important for intensive broiler producers. 

Ofhani’s study, which aims to evaluate the effect of increasing levels of a nutritional fat emulsifier with a high HLB on the (i) diet digestibility and (ii) production performance of broilers, will provide some insight into the possible energy-saving effect of dietary emulsifiers with a high HBL in broiler diets with moderate lipid inclusion levels. 

“A digestibility study will give more information on the emulsifier effect at metabolic level, and a production study will provide information on growth characteristics and carcass composition.”

An opportunity to compete with other candidates in the industry

“Few studies have been conducted on lipid emulsifiers under South African conditions, which necessitates the need for further research in this field,” he says. 

Ofhani, whose motto in life is to stay humble and accept positive criticism – as it is meant to enlighten you – wants to pursue a career in the animal feed industry. “My qualification will give me an opportunity to compete with other candidates of our generation in the industry, as well as on a research/academic level. By completing my MScAgric, I will broaden my own skill set so that I can continue with industry-related research in the future and provide mentorship to prospective animal scientists,” he adds. 

News Archive

UFS celebrates Africa Month
2017-05-24

 Description: ' Africa Month Tags: UFS celebrates Africa Month

Most of the international students at the UFS come from
the Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and other countries in Africa.

Photo: iStock

“Africa Month provides an opportunity
to every student and staff member to
commemorate African unity and celebrate
our rich cultural heritage, diversity,
energy and social dynamism.”

The University of the Free State (UFS) celebrates Africa Month to commemorate African unity and praise cultural heritage, as well as to take ownership of the future of the continent. According to Prof Heidi Hudson, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies, these are reasons to take part in the festivities.

Formation of Organisation of African Unity

Africa Day is the day on which Africa observes the creation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) on 25 May 1963. A total of 32 independent African states attended the formation.

The OAU’s aims were to promote unity and solidarity of the African states and act as a collective voice for the continent, in order to secure Africa’s long-term economic and political future and to rid it of remaining forms of colonialism. The OAU later gave birth to the African Union, which formally replaced the OAU in July 2002.

Prof Hudson says celebrating Africa Month forms part of her centre’s institutional mandate to promote an African focus in research, teaching, as well as public debate.

“Africa Month provides an opportunity to every student and staff member to commemorate African unity and celebrate our rich cultural heritage, diversity, energy and social dynamism. Secondly, by participating we all begin to take ownership of our future on this continent.”

She adds that Africa month provides a platform for reflecting on past experiences and achievements, as well as to critically assess the failures, challenges and the lessons learnt for the sake of a better future for the continent’s people.

Working relations across the continent

The UFS has working relations with universities, embassies and consulates in African countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and Tunisia.

Five cooperation agreements exist – they are with the Botho University (Botswana), Greater Zimbabwe University, Universidad Eduardo Mondlane (Mozambique), Trinity Theological Seminary Ghana, and Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary.

According to Kanego Mokgosi, Senior Officer at Internationalisation, there are also working relations between the university and The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa, Swedish International Development Agency and The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. All of these focus on research development in Africa.

Most of the international students at the UFS come from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the continent. It hosts 1393 students from SADC countries.

“The UFS employs SADC protocol guidelines which, among others, enjoin SADC universities to admit at least 5% of their student population from the SADC region,” says Mokgosi.

Memorial Lecture by Dr Zeleza

On 24 May 2017 the Centre for Africa Studies hosted an Africa Day Memorial Lecture by Dr Paul Tiyambe Zeleza, the Vice Chancellor (President) of the United States International University Africa, Nairobi, Kenya.

The UFS library, in collaboration with the Department of English and the Office of International Affairs, also celebrated Africa Day on 25 May 2017. They hosted a conversation on the Land Debate in South Africa, together with the launch of a book titled White Narratives: The depiction of Post-2000 Land Invasions in Zimbabwe by Prof Irikidzayi Manase. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of English.

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