Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items
Previous Archive
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

World class hockey at the UFS
2010-12-09

Gilles Bonnet, the South African coach, has roped in international specialist trainers to help with the preparations for the test series against Argentina, the current world champions. These trainers are Andrew Meredith, Assistant Coach National Men's Hockey Team at Deutsche Hockey Bund, Adel Fuentes, Assistant Coach of Argentina’s Men's Hockey Team, Frank Stofmeel, a Technical Director of SportWays and Martijn Drijver, Spanish and Dutch National Goalkeeper Coach from 2003 to 2009.

The test series against Argentina kicked off on Sunday 12 December at 17:30 on the UFS astros, where all the matches will be played.

The test matches will be played on the following days:

Sunday 12 December at 17:30
Monday 13 December at 17:30
Tuesday 14 December at 17:30
Thursday 16 December at 15:00
Friday 17 December at 10:00

The entrance fee is R15 per person and season tickets can be bought for R45 per ticket. For more information, contact Frans van der Watt at 083 283 9611 or 051 401 2540 or Spvdw@ufs.ac.za.


 

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept