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05 November 2021 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Andries van der Merwe was presented the Koos van der Merwe AFMA Student of the Year Award as the most outstanding final-year student in Animal Nutrition in 2021/2022.
Since childhood, a love of animals, nature, and agriculture has been instilled in Andries van der Merwe. He used to accompany his father, the local veterinarian in Postmasburg, helping where he could. “I can still vividly remember the first C-section I helped him with when I was about 12,” he says. 

A few years later, Andries decided to enrol for his studies at the University of the Free State (UFS) in order to get his grades up to study veterinary medicine one day. “But when I reached my third year and started with the subject Animal Nutrition, I saw that I could make a bigger difference and contribution to the agricultural sector through nutrition. The moment I realised this, my mind was made up to study towards becoming an animal nutritionist,” he says.

Viable alternative to the excessive use of antibiotics

His master’s thesis on the use of tannins as a feed additive to increase the production efficiency of ruminants (sheep, cattle, and goats) is also looking for a viable alternative to the excessive use of antibiotics to treat certain non-specific ailments such as diarrhoea and skin diseases.

With his work having the potential to one day make a difference in the agricultural sector, as well as some encouragement from his supervisor, Dr Ockert Einkamerer, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Animal Science, Andries entered and won AFMA’s Student of the Year competition. 

During a virtual symposium on 18 October 2021, the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) presented Andries with the Koos van der Merwe AFMA Student of the Year Award as the most outstanding final-year student in Animal Nutrition in 2021/2022.

“I have no idea what could have impressed the judges”, says Andries, who competed with students from universities across South Africa. 

Making a contribution to animal feeding in South Africa

“I am the second student from the UFS to win this award. Gert Daniel Jacobus Scholtz received the award in 1998 – my birth year,” says Andries. 

“It is an enormous honour for me to receive this highly prestigious award. I believe that the exposure I receive due to this reward will help me to secure a position where I can make a valuable contribution to the industry much quicker,” he adds.

De Wet Boshoff, Executive Director of AFMA, commended Andries: “I wish to congratulate you on behalf of the Animal Feed Manufacturers Association (AFMA) on winning the award. I believe it will encourage you to – through further studies and your career in the future – make a contribution to animal feeding in the Republic of South Africa.”

The award consists of a certificate and a cash amount of R20 000 sponsored by AFMA.

Andries is planning on completing his master’s degree. “I am considering a PhD and a Master’s of Business Administration. The latter is to ensure that I will be a vital part of any company in the industry,” he says.

“What is meant to happen will happen … you just need to have faith,” he believes.

News Archive

South Africa praised for dealing with its history
2012-07-12

“I listened to an incredible conversation on how South Africans can talk about the past. We failed to do that in the US. We cannot move on because we failed to name the ghosts in our past. I am honouring what South Africa is doing.”

These are the words of a staff delegate from a university in the USA in a case study at the Global Leadership Summit led by Prof. André Keet, Director of the International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State (UFS).

Students and academics from universities in the USA, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan are attending a Global Leadership Summit with the theme “Transcending Boundaries in Global Change Leadership” at the UFS.

In the case study, symbols on the Bloemfontein Campus such as the MT Steyn Statue, Justitia symbol of justice at the building of the Faculty of Law, the artwork Van hier tot daar, and the Women’s Memorial were presented to the audience and the question was asked if they had to be removed or if they had to remain.

Students overwhelmingly felt that symbols of the past had to remain. Here are some of the comments:

  • “Without our past we would not be here today. Without the past, we would not know why we are here or where we are going.”
  • “It is important for students that it remains on campus, as a reminder that history must not repeat itself.”
  • “There is room for new symbols. We must look back but must also look at the future.”
  • “We must resolve the problems of the past and move on.”
  • “We must remember that we cannot go back there again. We must not take away part of other people’s history.”
  • “Symbols must be contextualised.”
  •  “Don’t look in the rear mirror, but through the windscreen where you are going. The windscreen is far bigger.”

One student said the statute of MT Steyn filled him with anger.

Prof. Keet said the act of running away from the ghosts of the past was a way to keep those ghosts alive. The past cannot be dealt with, only visited. The ghosts connect people with the past and allow the past to be present in the now.
 

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