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02 June 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Supplied
Walter van Niekerk_
If you are so focused on achieving only certain goals in your life, you might miss the best opportunities, believes Dr Walter van Niekerk, who recently received his PhD in Agricultural Economics.

Being relevant in a constantly changing agricultural environment. This is one of Dr Walter van Niekerk’s biggest motivations in his working life. The place where he believes he will be able to do just that, is the University of the Free State (UFS). “The university was the best plan for my life,” he says. 

Whether it is in research or in learning and teaching, Dr Van Niekerk, Lecturer in the UFS Department of Agricultural Economics, believes that with a positive attitude and the ability to be adaptable to change, one will be able to make the most of any opportunity crossing your path. If you give 110% every day, you will be ready for any possibility. He is lecturing Agricultural Finance and Agri-business Management, focusing on agricultural business plans, to first- and third-year students, respectively. 

Contribute to findings on predation management

At the recent April graduation ceremonies, he was awarded his PhD. The title of his thesis was: An estimation of the downstream economic implications of predation in the South African red meat industry.

In his thesis, he outlined the economic impact of predation in the livestock sector and red meat industry. He believes the significant damage caused by predators cannot be controlled by man-made borders. “There is a reason for these animals' existence; they just need to be managed properly at national level by government,” he says.

The aim of his study was to contribute to and combine any findings on the predation problem, and to put these findings on a macroeconomic platform to inform government of the extent of this problem in order for them to develop strategies, policies, and mitigation methods to reduce predation and lessen the impact thereof.

Thus far, excerpts from his thesis have also been published as two articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals – a peer-reviewed journal of the National Museum, Indago, as well as the journal, Frontiers in Sustainable Supply Chain Management.

With predation being a constant point of discussion at agricultural associations’ monthly meetings, he believes that the research topic he has selected for his PhD is relevant and that the outcomes of his study will be able to make a difference in the agriculture sector. His work is more than just theory. He identified a problem – the damage that predation does to the red meat industry – and found a practical solution to it.  

Students staying relevant in a fast-changing environment 

Besides the possible impact he will have on the red meat industry, the PhD was also a means to an end – to develop himself as an agricultural economist in order to become an industry expert in his field.

He also takes his role as lecturer very seriously. It is important to him that his students, once they have completed their studies, must have an actual understanding of the field and that they must be able to stay relevant in a fast-changing environment by practically applying what they have learnt. 

In his free time, Dr Van Niekerk enjoys applying his knowledge. Besides his consultancy work with farmers, he also serves on Free State Agriculture’s Young Farmer Committee, and he is a technical adviser to the National Lucerne Trust (NLT), assisting them with their grading processes to ensure that their quality system is free of any irregularities, and that they stay relevant in the industry. 

News Archive

UFS law researcher part of international project to produce human trafficking reference book
2017-03-17

Description: Human trafficking reference book Tags: Human trafficking reference book


Trafficking in Persons has been in the spotlight as an ever-growing crime around the world. Research being done in South Africa by various universities over the years has yielded results that are internationally recognised.

Part of this work has been done by Prof Beatri Kruger, Research Associate at the Centre for Human Rights at the University of the Free State (UFS), who has been involved in research that has created awareness around the world on various methods of human trafficking in Africa. She is currently working on co-authoring a chapter in the International Handbook on Human Trafficking to be published by Palgrave, the first of its kind and a major reference work in this field, with Marcel van der Watt, a lecturer at the University of South Africa (Unisa) Department of Police Practice. The reference book is a massive international project that will have more than 60 international contributors and will be published in 2018.

Contribution to international research
The chapter is titled: Breaking bondages: Methods to control victims, ‘Juju’ and human trafficking. It explores the methods used by Nigerian and other West African traffickers, namely “juju” rituals, to subdue their victims for sexual exploitation in various parts of the world. The chapter further charts various physical, financial and the psychological control mechanisms, essential in establishing an informed counter-trafficking global response.

The book and other research being done is a step in the right direction in further understanding specific practices, and can be used to augment international research, support the work of NGOs, law enforcement agencies and individuals who work with victims worldwide, to be able to understand the tools used by perpetrators, and to stop the crime from growing.

Prof Kruger said there were new opportunities at the research division of the UFS Centre for Human Rights to explore human rights violations that occur in human-trafficking scenarios, thus contributing towards more efficient strategies to combat this crime.

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