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UFS continental expedition enhancing collaborative research

11 February 2022 | Story Phumudzo Tharaga | Photo Supplied

African expedition — From the left: Dr Antony Chapoto, Dr Tinashe Lindel Dirwai, Mr Jerry Dlamini, and Mr Phumudzo Tharaga collecting soil samples, assessing viable irrigation systems for implementation, and analysing the micro- and macro-climatic conditions for the establishment of avocado orchards in Mumbwa, Zambia.

A group of scientists from the Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) have initiated a research collaboration with two research institutions in Zambia, namely the Indaba Agricultural Policy Research Institute (IAPRI) and the University of Zambia (UNZA). The preliminary collaboration talks sought to strengthen research efforts in areas of orchard establishment and research, with an emphasis on water productivity, irrigation, and carbon cycling.

The collaborative efforts are expected to yield the establishment of a cross-border and transdisciplinary global think-tank institution. The visiting UFS scientists met with Dr Antony Chapoto, the Research Director at IAPRI, and Prof Elijah Phiri from UNZA. Dr Chapoto is a global expert in food policy, climate change, and livelihood research, while Prof Phiri specialises in agro-hydrology and soil physics. The visit was meant to foster and drive transdisciplinary research in the agricultural sector. Transdisciplinary research is key to reforming the think-tank space.

Joint collaborations

During the visit in Zambia, the team comprising Dr Tinashe Lindel Dirwai, agricultural engineer; Jerry Dlamini, agronomist; and Phumudzo Tharaga, agrometeorologist, visited villages that are still practising nomadic agricultural methods. Dlamini and Tharaga, both part of the New Generation of Academics Programme (nGAP) – a prestigious programme of the Department of Higher Education and Training – joined Dr Dirwai on his visit to the sites where avocado orchards are being established by the locals with assistance from IAPRI and the UFS scientists. The scientists were also introduced to the local chiefs and headman of the villages, in order to establish relations with the local communities on the outskirts of Zambia. The UFS team also visited the long-term experimental site conducted by the University of Zambia on conservation agriculture and its impact on groundwater sources. The UNZA team is involved in maize research focused on assessing the sustainability of groundwater fluctuations and yield components of conservation agriculture and conventional tillage. The project sums up a long-term joint UNZA and EU collaboration.

News Archive

UFS SIFE is the best in SA!

2004-07-09

The SIFE team celebrates their victory with Jack Shewmaker, founder of SIFE in 1975 and past-president of Walmart in the USA, and Moses Kgosana, Chairman of KPMG SA.

The Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team of the University of the Free State competed in the National SIFE championships on Thursday, June 17, 2004 at Ceasar’s Convention Centre in Johannesburg.

Strong competition was experienced from the other ten participant SA universities, e.g. the Universities of the Western Cape, Kwazulu-Natal, Cape Town and RAU, but die UFS SIFE team retained the national championship for the third year running.

The team will now represent South Africa and the University of the Free State in Barcelona, Spain at die SIFE World Cup. The competition will be held from 22 to 24 September 2004.

The presentation team members for the competition were Tsholofelo Tlhomelang, Imameleng Matete, Kenneth Lefa, Kabelo Lephaka, Nadia van Staden, Tshepo Mahloko (Multi-Media), Werner Schmidt (Faculty Advisor). Supporting the presentation team were Lineo Peete, Keketso Ntene, Ruth Morienyane, Motaung Mathaba, Tshireletso Seekoe, Peter Letsoalo, Obakeng Msuthwana, Tshepiso Lebentle, JC Langeveldt and Michelle Stanley.

SIFE is a world-wide non-profit organisation with the express aim of encouraging students to spread their business knowledge - gained in the classroom - to the community, to promote and expand the principles of free enterprise.( www.sife.org )

The criteria by which SIFE-projects are measured are the following:

• How free markets work in the global economy.
• How entrepreneurs succeed by identifying a market need and then profitably producing and marketing a product or service to fill that need.
• The personal entrepreneurial, communications, technology and financial management skills needed to successfully compete.
• Practicing business in an ethical and socially responsible manner that supports the principles of a market economy.
• Measuring the results of projects, utilizing mass media and the Internet, involving non-business majors and utilizing a Business Advisory Board, communicating the program through a written report and verbal presentation.

The UFS’ SIFE-team’s presentation complied with all the above mentioned criteria. SIFE UFS’ education drive stretched from primary school learners, to adults who had been working for thirty years – this diverse group was taught about the free market system and its value in the global village. Business ethics and basic business principles were communicated in a fun and interactive way to learners. High-level business advice was given to entrepreneurs who started new projects, e.g. a brick-maker, and marketing advice were given to existing businesses in need of expansion.

If you are interested in helping SIFE UFS achieve its goals, e-mail Werner Schmidt at
schmidtw.ekw@mail.uovs.ac.za or phone him at 051 – 401 3376.

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