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04 April 2024
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Story Lunga Luthuli
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Photo SUPPLIED
Dr Juliet Kamwendo champions gender-inclusive climate action in Africa. Her expertise at the recently held AFR100 workshop highlighted vital steps towards sustainable and equitable development.
Dr Juliet Kamwendo, Lecturer and Programme Director for Gender Studies in the Centre for Gender and Africa Studies at the University of the Free State, is spearheading efforts to integrate gender considerations into Africa's climate restoration agenda. Reflecting on her involvement, Dr Kamwendo stated, "This is particularly crucial, as women make up almost 50% of the population in Africa, and the depletion and degradation of land affect them disproportionately."
She recently served as a gender expert at the AUDA-NEPAD AFR100 workshop in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, from 25 to 29 March 2024. This initiative aims to restore forests and degraded land across Africa by 2030, with a focus on gender equality.
The workshop emphasised the integration of gender perspectives into the AFR100 project, acknowledging the disproportionate impact of land degradation on women. Dr Kamwendo's expertise highlighted the need to empower women in climate change interventions, addressing existing gender inequalities exacerbated by environmental degradation.
“Women – who are primarily responsible for household food security and water provision – bear the brunt of environmental degradation, leading to increased workloads, reduced income opportunities, and heightened vulnerability to climate-related disasters. Furthermore, the loss of forest cover and biodiversity further exacerbates the challenges faced by women, particularly in rural areas where they depend heavily on natural resources for their livelihoods,” added Dr Kamwendo.
Her participation highlights academia's crucial role in fostering inclusive and sustainable development, emphasising interdisciplinary collaboration to tackle complex environmental challenges. Through initiatives such as AFR100, stakeholders are working towards a more resilient and gender-responsive future for Africa.
Prof. Hennie Snyman named national agriculturist of the year
2009-11-18
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Here is Prof. Snyman (right) with Adv. Koos Nel, Marketing Manager of Old Mutual, one of the sponsors.
Photo: Ben Rootman
This past weekend Prof. Hennie Snyman from the Department of Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) became the second agriculturist in a row at the UFS that was named the national agriculturist of the year by Agricultural Writers SA. This honour was bestowed upon Prof. Maryke Labuschagne from the Department of Plant Sciences at the UFS last year. Prof. Snyman is, amongst others, honoured because he is one of the few South African agriculturists that are making a comprehensive contribution towards the Grasslands and Agricultural Sciences.
His broad field of research over the past 32 years has been the sustainable utilisation of the grasslands ecosystem in drier areas in particular. Various other grasslands projects in various fields have also been undertaken by him. The adjudication took place in five categories, namely the contribution towards agriculture in general, the contribution towards the development of the farmer, adaptation to changing circumstances in the agricultural industry, national and international recognition in the agricultural industry and the field in which he is an expert and achievements already attained. Prof. Snyman received the award during a dinner of the Agricultural Writers SA in Pretoria.
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