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09 February 2024 | Story EDZANI NEPHALELA | Photo SUPPLIED
Jerry Dlamini
Dr Jerry Dlamini, lecturer and researcher specialising in agronomy within the Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), is at the forefront of pioneering research in this field.

Greenhouse gas emissions represent a significant global concern, driving climate change on a massive scale. This concern is particularly pronounced in rainfed agriculture, where understanding and addressing these emissions are crucial for ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. 

In South Africa, rainfed agriculture is vital in food production, contributing substantially to the nation's agricultural output. However, this sector also stands as a notable contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, primarily through activities such as livestock farming, fertiliser use, and changes in land use.

Dr Jerry Dlamini, a distinguished lecturer and researcher specialising in agronomy within the Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), is leading pioneering research in this field. His current project, @CROPGas on X, funded by the European Joint Programme (EPJ), with a budget of R22 million, focuses on investigating the impact of various conservation agriculture interventions on greenhouse gas emissions, primarily targeting nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2).

This two-year project, which commenced in December 2022 and concludes in December 2024, is a collaborative effort between European and African universities and institutions, including Rothamsted Research (UK), University College Dublin (Ireland), University of Nottingham (UK), University of Poznan (Poland), British Geological Surveys (BGS), University of Zambia (Zambia), University of Zimbabwe, and Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi). 

Dr Dlamini’s preliminary findings from the UFS Kenilworth Experimental Farm indicate that climate-smart agriculture interventions, such as legume rotation and no-till practices, have the potential to reduce the intensity of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly highly radiative gases like N2O.

“This is a significant finding,” Dr Dlamini noted, “as N2O has a global warming potential 100 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year horizon, meaning its impact on ozone depletion persists far longer despite being emitted in smaller quantities.”

Looking ahead, Dr Dlamini advocates for increased research efforts to quantify greenhouse gas emissions from South African croplands. He emphasises the importance of field-based measurements, akin to methodologies employed by other nations, to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of South Africa's greenhouse gas inventories submitted annually to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and to devise effective mitigation strategies. 

News Archive

UFS in forefront with ASGI-SA initiative
2006-05-10

At the conceptualisation colloquium and stakeholder dialogue were from the left Dr Aldo Stroebel (senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate), Dr Edith Vries (acting Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Development Trust) and Prof Frans Swanepoel (Director: UFS Research Development Directorate).

UFS in forefront with ASGI-SA initiative

Two staff members of the University of the Free State (UFS) have been appointed as members of the advisory board of the national programme for the creation of small enterprises and jobs in the second economy.  This programme forms part of government’s Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative of South Africa (ASGI-SA).

Prof Frans Swanepoel, Director of the UFS Research Development Directorate and Dr Aldo Stroebel, senior researcher at the UFS Research Development Directorate, are working with a team of experts from the UFS on a draft implementation strategy for the national programme.  Both Prof Swanepoel and Dr Stroebel are also associated to the UFS Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
 
“The strategy is being developed in collaboration with institutions like the Independent Development Trust, the Department of Agriculture, the National Development Agency and the Department of Trade and Industry,” says Prof  Swanepoel.  

The other team members of the UFS are Prof Basie Wessels, Director of the  Mangaung-University Community Partnership Programme (MUCPP) and Mr  Benedict Mokoena, project manager at the MUCPP.

Dr Stroebel was also member of the organising committee of a conceptualisation colloquium and stakeholder dialogue that was recently presented in Johannesburg.  The conference was attended by more than 400 delegates from government departments, higher-education institutions and civil society, including Dr Kobus Laubscher, member of the UFS Council.

The conference was facilitated by Ms Vuyo Mahlati, previously from the WK Kellogg Foundation’s Africa programme and opened by Ms Thoko Didiza, Minister of Agriculture and Land Affairs.   

“The colloquium formed the basis of an induction workshop during which a group of 150 individuals (50 teams of three) from all nine provinces, identified to initiate the implementation of the national programme, was trained and orientated towards an induction manual in collaboration with Hand-in-Hand, an Indian counterpart,” says Prof Swanepoel.

Dr Stroebel and Mr Benedict Mokoena formed part of the team to conceptualise and finalise this training manual.  The induction training includes a case study of a successful community self-help partnership model, namely the MUCPP at the UFS. Prof Wessels and Mr Mokoena are both playing a leading role in the further development of subsequent training initiatives throughout South Africa, in partnership with the relevant provincial departments.

“The involvement of the UFS in the programme is a compliment to us.  It reflects the value government sees in the use of academics and experts in the management of the ASGI-SA initiative.  It is also an indication of one of the aims of the UFS to play a role in South Africa and Africa and in the transformation and change that is taking place in our country,” says Prof Swanepoel.  

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Media Representative
Tel:   (051) 401-2584
Cell:  083 645 2454
E-mail:  loaderl.stg@mail.uovs.ac.za
10 May 2006

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