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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. 

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Kovsie-Alumni Trust provides financial support to gifted young persons
2009-07-08

 
Kovsie-Alumni Trust of the University of the Free State (UFS) provides financial support to gifted young persons. This year, the Trust has already granted R24 000 to students with disabilities and R28 500 to ad hoc applications for financial support. Amongst others, financial support of R224 888 was given to students from the Alumni Donation Funds. The contributions of generous donators to the Trust Fund are used to award academic, cultural and sport bursaries to deserving prospective as well as current Kovsie students. Here are, from the left: PK Nkate, a blind honours student in Business Management, who received R6 000 from the Trust, Ralph de Kramer, who received R3 500 for his ad hoc application; back: Adv Seef Hefer, Chairperson of the Trust, Ms Francis Hoexter, member of the Trust, Leendert Kramer, who received R60000 for his ad hoc application and Mr Ryno Opperman, member of the Trust. Other bursaries were awarded to Eleanor Bernard and Nandi Venter, Master’s students from the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, French and German, who each received half of the NNP bursaries with the total value of R20 000 and Magteld Smith, a blind Ph.D. student in BA to whom the Sapcor Bursary was awarded. Carien Gordon, Geoff Bezuidenhout and Ilana van der Merwe received R6 000, R3 500 and R3 500 respectively, according to their ad hoc applications.
Photo: Dries Myburgh

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