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05 September 2022 | Story Leonie Bolleurs | Photo Anja Aucamp
GROW your own Food
KovsieACT and the Food Environment Office, together with the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, presented a lunchtime event: GROW with food security activist, Thabo Olivier, at the Thakaneng Bridge on the Bloemfontein Campus.

There is nothing that says ‘spring’ quite like tree buds, blossoms, butterflies, and bees.

At the University of the Free State (UFS), spring was heralded this year by the dark red of beetroot, the orange of carrots, the green of fresh spinach, and the pale green of big, healthy cabbages, as staff and students celebrated GROW with Thabo Olivier on Spring Day. 

UFS research findings indicated that almost two thirds of its students do not know where their next meal will come from. One of the initiatives the university has created to address the issue, is a vegetable production and training programme. The purpose of the programme, which was established by Kovsie ACT in collaboration with the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development and the Food Environment Office, is to teach students how to produce vegetables.

In an effort to train the wider university community about food production in order to contribute to food security at the UFS, KovsieACT and the Food Environment Office, together with the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, presented a lunchtime event: GROW, with food security activist, Thabo Olivier, at the Thakaneng Bridge on the Bloemfontein Campus.

Reuse and repurpose

Olivier, who believes in reuse, reduce, recycle, and repurpose, is of the opinion that one can transform one’s waste into a sustainable garden. He will use what people throw away – from bottles to eggshells to cracked drums – to grow his vegetables. He also makes his own compost and organic pesticides consisting of garlic, chilies, and onions, boiled in water. The extract is then poured through a sieve and sprayed onto his crops through his self-made spray bottle – an old plastic 2 L bottle with holes (made with a pin) at the top. 

According to him, no space is too small to grow food. He planted tomatoes in bottles and started his giant pumpkins of 300 to 400 kg in foamalite cups, later transplanting them into a bigger space.

Grow into it

Typing in ‘food insecurity’, one would find that a third of Pakistan is under water, meaning that a large part of their agricultural land has been washed away. According to the World Bank, record high food prices have triggered a global crisis that will drive millions more into extreme poverty, magnifying hunger and malnutrition. The global food crisis has been made worse by the growing number of food trade restrictions put in place by certain countries in reaction to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. 

In Olivier's view, people can only be enslaved through food insecurity. It is his opinion that small organic farms are the start of saving the world. He is planning to create a 100% food secure street in Bloemfontein. He would like to extend this to other suburbs and later to other cities. “Start small with one square metre and grow into it,” he says.

Qualify yourself 

Olivier advised that it is important to equip yourself with knowledge. He recommended the short courses of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, Rural Development, and Extension at the UFS. “Furthermore, if you do not know anything, you have access to all the information on the phones in your pockets. Find out where your passion lies and qualify yourself,” he says.

Olivier shared his four food growing commandments. He says a person with an excuse will never be able to produce; it is only the person who prepare that will prevail; what you put in is what you get out (also in life); and the best time to start is now. 

Teaching others to grow their own food is an essential part of stopping world hunger. “Equip yourself with the knowledge and then teach someone else to plant their own food. If you want to be a leader, start teaching others to grow food. Lead by example and ensure food security,” he says

GROW your own food
In an effort to combat food insecurity on campus, a vegetable production and training programme of the UFS not only provides its students with fresh produce, but it also gives them the opportunity to get involved on a voluntary basis in the food production process, including the planting and harvesting of the vegetables. Photo: Anja Aucamp

Harvest and taste

Carien Denner-Vorster from the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development did a food demonstration during which she made a beautiful coleslaw with cabbage and carrots from the gardens, which not only inspired students to make their own salad, but also provided the opportunity to taste. 

The GROW with Thabo event also included the harvesting of vegetables, more specifically cabbage and spinach, in the gardens opposite Welwitschia Residence. 

In 2019, Dr Jan Swanepoel, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development – with the help of Prof Michael Rudolph from the University of the Witwatersrand – obtained funding from Tiger Brands for two vegetable tunnels. Later, due to the success of the tunnels, Tiger Brands again assisted with the funding of two more tunnels on the UFS Lengau Experimental Farm. These tunnels are in the process of being completed. 

Through KovsieAct, students from the residences can volunteer to get involved in the vegetable production programme. According to Annelize Visagie from the Food Environment Office, up to 80 students, most from the No Student Hungry (NSH) Programme, receive food after each three-day harvest. Anyone who would like to contribute to the NSH programme, can contact her at visagiea@ufs.ac.za 

News Archive

Full week of graduation ceremonies at UFS in April
2015-04-10

Autumn always sees the UFS’s first graduation ceremony of the year on the Bloemfontein Campus.

From 14 – 17 April 2015, graduates will once again be rewarded for their hard work while top speakers will address them in the Callie Human Centre. There will be a ceremony at 09:00 and at 14:30 each day on all four days of the graduation.

The programme for the 2015 April Graduation is as follows:

Tuesday 14 April 2015:

Professor Himla Soodyall will be the speaker at both ceremonies on this day. Prof Soodyall is a Medical Scientist for the South African Institute for Medical Research. She is also a Principal Medical Scientist for the National Health Laboratory Service, and a Director for the Human Genome Diversity and Disease Research Unit at the University of Witwatersrand.

During the first ceremony of the day at 09:00, all diplomas/certificates and B degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded. Only Honours degrees in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.
 
Wednesday 15 April 2015:

Wednesday will see Ndumiso Hadebe take the stage to address graduates at both ceremonies.

At the age of 23, Hadebe is the Founder and Managing Director of Master Frontiers Consulting, a firm that capacitates leaders and managers to achieve business goals through their people. He worked previously as a Researcher at Shanduka Black Umbrellas, a flagship enterprise and supplier development programme of the Shanduka Foundation. 

He has been received numerous awards for excellence in leadership, such as the Sedibeng District Municipal Mayor’s Award for Service and Leadership. He is a Brand South Africa Ambassador and Read Educational Trust Ambassador.

All diplomas/certificates, B and Honours degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, except B Com degrees, will be awarded during the morning ceremony at 09:00. Later, at the 14:30 ceremony, only B Com degrees in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences will be awarded.

Thursday 16 April 2015:

Multiple award winning South African TV presenter, Leanne Manas, will be the speaker at both Thursday ceremonies.

Manas has graced our screens for over a decade. Not many broadcasters can boast having had live TV experience, 5 days a week for 12 years. She is currently the anchor of SABC 2’s flagship breakfast programme, Morning Live. Leanne is a qualified Speech and Drama teacher. having studied at London Trinity College. She also has an Honours degree in English.
Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication Sciences will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. The 14:30 ceremony will have diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of the Humanities’ other qualifications except for Social Sciences and Communication Sciences.
 
Friday 17 April 2015:

Dr Maria Phalime will be the speaker at both ceremonies on Friday.

Phalime is a medical doctor and award-winning author. She practiced for a brief period as a general practitioner in South Africa and the United Kingdom, before leaving medical practice to pursue non-clinical interests. She has worked in trade and investment promotion, and has undertaken research and consulting in the areas of economic development and business facilitation.

Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculty of Education (CE, NPDE and ACE excluded) will be awarded during the ceremony at 09:00. Diplomas/certificates up to and including Honours degrees in the Faculties of Health Sciences, Law, and Theology will be awarded at the 14:30 ceremony.

Click here for the simple layout of the 2015 April Graduation programme:
http://www.ufs.ac.za/adhoc-pages/2014-graduation-ceremony/graduation-ceremony

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