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07 August 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons
Dr Alba du Toit
Dr Alba du Toit, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, is leading the newly established Innovative ARC-DALLRD-UFS Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System research chair at the UFS.

The Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System research chair, one of four ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs recently established at the University of the Free State (UFS), will focus on innovative agro-processing technologies that could affect food and nutrition security. The chair’s work will also focus on improving food systems that can impact socioeconomic development.

In a concerted effort to address the challenges and effects of climate change in Southern Africa, the UFS, together with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD), established four new research chairs within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS).

The other research chairs are Climate Change and Agriculture, Agriculture Risk Financing and Sustainable Livestock Production and together with the Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System research chair, and fall under the umbrella of climate change. They will also be part of the centre of excellence of the ARC and DALRRD on Climate Smart Agriculture.

Dr Alba du Toit, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, will lead the Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System research chair and says the chair allows researchers to dedicate their time and effort towards research. It consolidates expertise, resources, and facilities to strengthen the research team’s capacity and will have a strong foundation for sustainable development goals. The chair provides a hub for collaboration between the UFS, ARC and DALLRD to focus on regionally engaged research with maximum societal impact.

The chair, which officially started on 1 July, also allows researchers to do trans- and multi-disciplinary, relevant and cutting-edge research.

Nixtamalisation could transform the food system

“We believe that nixtamalisation could transform the food system. However, the consumer’s willingness to adopt and embrace new products and techniques is dependent on the success of the initiative.

“Thus, innovations in new product development must be consumer-led since the consumer is constantly evolving, making it imperative to understand consumer behaviour and motivations behind decision-making,” says Dr Du Toit.

The nixtamalisation process, she explains, is a multistep technique commonly employed in Mexico, Central America and the southern regions of the US to transform maize into food products. The nixtamalisation process alters the physicochemical, nutritional and sensory properties of maize products by increasing protein quality, improving the content of calcium, magnesium and potassium and reducing mycotoxin levels.”

According to Dr Du Toit, by using the principles of circular food design, they will develop products that could provide solutions and support the food system. It involves using processing technologies that could be applied and implemented by anyone with access to a basic kitchen.

“This would benefit rural farmers and communities, small-scale and emerging farmers to provide food for themselves and become economically active small business owners. We believed the right product could not only influence the food security and well-being of individual households but also stimulate entrepreneurial action, which could benefit the community and overcome barriers to make nixtamalisation an acceptable practice for all,” says Dr Du Toit.

Maize and sorghum

“Maize and sorghum are staple crops in South Africa that are not being utilised to their full potential. South Africa is well known for its maize production, and it is the staple for most of the population in the form of pap. However, the reliance on pap exaggerates the issues of food and nutrition insecurity because pap cooked from Super Maize Meal is deficient in nutrients and often consumed in isolation without diversification in the diet.

“Sorghum is another cereal crop that is climate-smart, drought-resistant and suited in South Africa’s arid and semi-arid areas, while it offers good nutritional value. However, most consumers are not familiar with the crop except for its application as an instant porridge.  Nixtamalisation is a process that could benefit consumers as maize and sorghum could be transformed into nutritious, safe meals directly from the farm to the fork,” explains Dr Du Toit.

Home-grown dried whole maize kernels, she continues, could be converted into safe and delicious meals in homes using basic equipment as it is widely and effectively done in Mexico by rural women. The research will determine if consumers would accept the process of nixtamalisation, whether the products would be acceptable, and if the nutritional value would be comparable to commercial products.

Some of the news consumer-acceptable products already developed, include maize chips, dehydrated phutu pap, and corndogs. Currently, the team is working on maize-milk, maize-milk frozen dessert and a custard tart. Maize products have the advantage of being lactose- and gluten-free and thus would appeal to consumers of plant-based products.

Societal impact

Dr Du Toit says she is excited about the societal impact this project will have on communities and the country and is hopeful that they will be able to influence policymakers and the industry to provide more nutritious staples that could be “game-changers” for the sake of society. She is looking forward to collaborating with DALRRD, the ARC and the grain industry to ensure that partnerships are strengthened and new opportunities are created for the staff and students.

Prof Wilna Oldewage-Theron, a Professor of Nutrition in the College of Human Sciences at Texas Tech University, will join the research chair next year as the co-leader. She has experience in community nutrition research in Africa, and her research interests include the factors contributing to household food insecurity and malnutrition in resource-poor communities. She will be focused on the nutritional benefits of soy for human health.

Prof Maryke Labuschagne, who is leading the NRF SARChI Chair in Diseases and Quality of Field Crops and who is passionate about impacting malnutrition, has been appointed as mentor for the chair.

News Archive

Situation on the Bloemfontein Campus, and letter to parents
2016-02-28

Letter to parents from Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the UFS 

 

Statement by Prof Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of the University of the Free State (UFS) about the situation on the Bloemfontein Campus


1.    As all of you know, last night we witnessed a really tragic event at Xerox Shimla Park on the Bloemfontein Campus on the occasion of the Varsity Cup rugby match between NMMU (FNB Madibaz) and UFS (FNB Shimlas).
2.    The game started at 18:30 and about 17 minutes into the match, a group of protestors sitting on the north-eastern side of the stadium decided to invade the pitch and disrupt the game in progress.
3.    After a short while, some of the spectators also invaded the field, chasing and brutally beating those protestors whom they caught.
4.    As a university leadership we condemn in the strongest terms possible the vicious attack on the protestors. Nobody, repeat nobody, has the right to take the law into their own hands. While the protests were illegal and disruptive, it did not harm to the physical well-being of the spectators.
5.    The reaction from the group of spectators, however, not only opened old wounds, it trampled, literally and figuratively, on the dignity and humanity of other human beings. This we condemn in no uncertain terms, and no stone will be left unturned to find those who acted so violently on what should have been a beautiful occasion that also brought families and young children together to enjoy an evening of sport.
6.    I cannot over-emphasise our level of disgust and dismay at the behaviour of the spectators. It is NOT what the University of the Free State (UFS) is about and we are working around the clock to gather evidence on the basis of which we will pursue both charges and, in the case of students, also disciplinary action on campus.
7.    At the same time, the invasion of the pitch is also completely unacceptable and we will seek evidence on the basis of which we will act against those who decided to disrupt an official university event.
8.    Clashes between students occurred afterwards on campus and members of the Public Order Policing had to disperse some of them. The situation was stabilised in the early hours of the morning.
9.    Disruption continued this morning (23 February 2016) when students damaged some university buildings, a statue, and broke windows. Additional reinforcements from the South African Police Service were brought in to stabilise the campus. Additional security has also been deployed.


Broader picture
10.    We are very aware of the national crisis on university campuses and the instability currently underway. While the UFS has been largely peaceful, we have not been spared this turmoil, as last night’s events showed.
11.    We are also conscious of the fact that even as we speak, various political formations are vying for position inside the turmoil in this important election year. In fact, part of the difficulty of resolving competing demands is that they come from different political quarters, and change all the time.
12.    We are therefore learning from reliable sources that the Varsity Cup competition is, in fact, a target of national protests in front of a television audience.
13.    And we are aware of the fact that these protests are not only led by students but also by people from outside who have no association with the university. Just as the violent spectators involved on Monday night also included people from outside the university.

The demands

14.    My team has worked around the clock to try to meet the demands of contract workers demanding to be in-sourced. In fact, this weekend past, senior colleagues sat with worker leaders in the township to try to find ways of meeting their demands. We were hoping that such an agreement would be finalised by Monday afternoon (22 February 2016), but on the same Monday morning workers and students were arrested after moving onto Nelson Mandela Avenue, after which the South African Police Service (SAPS) took over as the matter became a public safety concern outside the hands of the university. Since then, it was difficult to return the workers to settle on a possible agreement.
15.    The fact is that the UFS has been in constant negotiation with contract workers to provide our colleagues with a decent wage and certain benefits. In fact, towards the end of last year we raised the minimum wage from R2 500 to R5 000. We were in fact hoping that the continued negotiations would improve that level of compensation even as we looked at a possible plan for insourcing in the future. We made it clear that if we could insource immediately, we would, but that the financial risk to the university was so great that it threatened the jobs of all our staff. Those negotiations were going well, until recently, when without notice the workers broke away and decided to protest on and around campus.
16.    While these negotiations were going on, the Student Representative Council (SRC) on Monday 22 February 2016 also decided to protest. While the vast majority of our 32 000 students were in classes and determined to get an education, a very small group led by the SRC President decided to protest; some invaded the UFS Sasol Library and the computer centre, and with the President eventually made their way to Xerox Shimla Park on which route they confronted the police, interrupted traffic and in fact injured some of our security staff as well as police officials.
17.    The university is definitely proceeding to collect evidence on these illegal and violent acts and will also act firmly against students involved in these protests.

Summary
18.    The events of Monday night represent a major setback for the transformation process at the UFS. While we have made major progress in recent years—from residence integration to a more inclusive language policy to a core curriculum to very successful ‘leadership for change’ interventions for student leaders—we still have a long way to go.
19.    One violent incident on a rugby field and we again see the long road ahead yet to be travelled. As I have often said before, you cannot deeply transform a century-old university and its community overnight. We acknowledge the progress but also the still long and difficult path ahead. We will not give up.
20.    We have 32 000 students on our campuses; the overwhelming majority of them are decent and committed to building bridges over old divides as we have seen over and over again. So many of our students, black and white, have become close and even intimate friends working hard to make this a better campus and ours a better community and country. Like all of us, they are gutted by what they saw on Monday, but the hundreds of messages I received from parents, students, and alumni this past 20 hours or so said one thing—keep on keeping on. And we will.

 

The Big Read: An assault on transformation (Times Live kolom deur Prof Jonathan Jansen: 25 Februarie 2016)

 

 

 


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