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UFS and ARC establish research chairs to address climate change

12 July 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo André Damons

Research Chairs 2024 — Prof Paul Oberholster, Dean: NAS; Dr Glen Taylor, Senior Director for the Directorate Research Development (DRD); Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Internationalisation; and Prof Johan van Niekerk, Vice-Dean for Agriculture in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS); are excited for the new ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs.

In a concerted effort to address the challenges and impact of climate change in Southern Africa, the University of the Free State (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 ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs, namely Climate Change and Agriculture, Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System, Agriculture Risk Financing and Sustainable Livestock Production, falls under the umbrella of climate change and are part of the established centre of excellence of the ARC and DALRRD on Climate Smart Agriculture.

They will form part of two centres of excellence that the university is also in the process of establishing. The framework for these Agriculture Research Centres of Excellence involves several key components aimed at fostering innovation, collaboration, and impactful research in agriculture. In this case it is Climate Smart Agriculture, enabling them to play a pivotal role in advancing agriculture, enhancing productivity, sustainability, and resilience in the face of global challenges related to climate change.

Prof Johan van Niekerk, Vice-Dean for Agriculture for NAS, and Prof Sonja Venter, from the ARC, are the coordinators for the ARC-UFS-consortium. Joel Mamabolo from the DALRRD is the department’s representative and DALRRD manager in the consortium.

The purpose of the research chairs, he explains, is to conduct high-level research with an aspect of community impact as envisaged in the university’s vision 130. This is the UFS and NAS’s first steps towards creating industry chairs with negotiations between the UFS and the ARC-DALRRD currently taking place for further expansion of the chairs.

Improve research and food security

“The UFS has a long-standing relationship with the ARC and the parties came together to work together to improve research and food security in South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa. The best way to do this, was by creating research chairs. The ARC saw the university’s expertise in agriculture which also contributed to the ARC establishing the chairs. Our expertise is of such a nature that it does not only influence the sector, but also makes a lasting difference,” says Prof Van Niekerk.

According to him, the ARC and the UFS will collectively manage the research chairs by appointing co-chair principal scientists for each of the chairs in order for the chairs to work together and share resources and expertise. The ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs will also work closely together within multidisciplinary research teams and complement each other and in doing so, create a value chain within the agriculture sector.

It will integrate various disciplines including agronomy, genetics, soil science, ecology, pathology economics, socioeconomics horticulture, animal sciences, food sciences and engineering to mention a few. This multidisciplinary approach will foster comprehensive research solutions and innovation at the intersection of different fields and will aim to contribute to sustainable food systems for the future.

The first two chairs; Climate Change and Agriculture, headed by Prof Linus Franke, Head of the UFS Department of Soil, Crop, and Climate Sciences, and the Innovative Agro-processing for Climate-smart Food System, which will be under Dr Alba du Toit, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, officially started on 1 July 2024, while the remaining two chairs will begin operating in December. The ARC will soon confirm the co-leaders of the various chairs.

The Agriculture Risk Financing research chair will be shared between the Department of Agricultural Economics, within NAS, and the UFS Business School. The Sustainable Livestock Production chair will fall within Prof Frikkie Neser’s Department of Animal Science. To add more credibility, experience and expertise to the ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chairs, Prof Maryke Labuschagne, who is leading the NRF SARChI Chair in Diseases and Quality of Field Crops, has been appointed as mentor.

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Internationalisation, says: “These chairs mark an exciting opportunity to deepen our understanding of climate change aligned to our expertise in agriculture. The chairs offer us the opportunity to honour and support the leaders who will contribute in powerful ways to the vibrant intellectual life of the faculty, as well as the university, the ARC and DALRRD.

“The chairs also honour the donor whose financial support makes this form of recognition possible. At the UFS we are committed to engaging in global challenges but with a deliberate local focus, energy and drive. I am especially excited that these chairs demonstrate a commitment to the UFS focus on partnerships with industry, communities, the state and other academic and research institutions both nationally and around the world.”

Grateful for the ARC relationship

Through these chairs more collaborators and partners from other universities in the country and globally will be included in the partnership with the aim to bring together internationally renowned scientific experts that will collectively focus to address global challenges and enhance the development of more scientific capacity for the country.

The university, Prof Van Niekerk continues, is grateful for the cooperation and relationship with the ARC and its President and CEO, Dr Litha Magingxa and the executive management team, as well as the DALRRD DG, Mooketsa Ramasodi and the DDG for Agricultural Production, Biosecurity and Natural Resources Management, Dipepeneneng Serage for creating an environment within which the Universities and ARC can collectively contribute towards developing solutions with the DALRRD for key agricultural challenges of the country.

He expressed his gratitude to the Directorate Research Development (DRD) under the leadership of Dr Glen Taylor, for not only their support, but for bringing the parties together and negotiating with the ARC on their behalf. In this regard he wishes to thank Dr Petronella Chaminuka from the ARC as the acting Executive Manager: Research support and coordination for her support, guidance and leadership during the process.

Prof Van Niekerk also thanked Profs Francis Petersen, UFS Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Reddy, and Paul Oberholster, Dean of the Faculty of NAS, for creating the environment and rendering immense support for this programme from the UFS.

News Archive

Internationally acclaimed academic applauded on Africa Day

2011-06-02

Prof. Ali Mazrui, an internationally acclaimed and renowned academic.

One of the world’s top academics was given a warm welcome in the rather cold Free State recently.

Prof. Ali Mazrui, an internationally acclaimed and renowned academic, visited us as part of our Africa Day celebrations as arranged by the Centre for Africa Studies. He delivered a keynote address, entitled ‘Pro-democracy uprisings in an African experience: from Sharpeville to Benghazi.’

A festive atmosphere and the sound of drums welcomed this intellectual giant as well as other delegates upon their arrival at the CR Swart Auditorium on our Bloemfontein Campus. Some of the delegates who attended the Africa Day Celebrations, included: Mr Tom Amolo, High Commissioner from the Republic of Kenya; Mr Dan Kgothule, MEC of Arts and Culture in the province; Prof. Jeff and Dr Carla Ramsdell, visitors from America; Dr Allan Boesak and Prof. Nicky Morgan, Vice-Rector: Operations.

Prof. Frederick Fourie, former Vice-Chancellor and Rector of our university, also attended the celebrations, as did some scholars from neighboring schools.

Welcoming Prof. Mazrui, Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector of our university, quipped that he was relieved the world had not ended the previous weekend as was predicted, because he was looking forward to listening to such a renowned intellectual.

Prof. Lucius Botes, Dean of Humanities, followed Prof. Jansen at the podium. He said the ability to go from following a bridging course to being one of the top 100 intellectuals in the world, indeed distinguishes Prof. Mazrui as an exceptional academic. This intellectual is, among others, an Albert Luthuli Professor at the University of Jos, Nigeria and Andrew D. Professor Emeritus and Senior Scholar in Africana Studies at Cornell University.

In his introduction, Prof. Mazrui said he feels honored and flattered by this opportunity. He proceeded by referring to the history of Africa Day and added that he would rather prefer an Africa Week to an Africa Day to ensure that everybody has the opportunity to celebrate the continent.

He sang the praises of South Africa, as almost every other African country which attained liberation from European colonial rule in the 20th century, has been unable to maintain its democratic order beyond its first decade of independence.

“The Republic of South Africa, on the other hand, liberated Nelson Mandela in 1990, held its first democratic election in 1994, and already has its third president. Nearly two decades after Apartheid, South Africa has not outlawed opposition parties, or experienced a military coup, or permitted the Head of State to govern the country as a dictator.”

In his speech he compared the uprisings in Sharpeville during 1960 and Soweto during 1976 with the more recent pro-democracy uprisings in North Africa, based on the role that weapons and the lack thereof, as well as the youth and women played in the respective cases.

He concluded by saying the uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt have already resulted in ousting dictators who had been entrenched in power for decades, adding that in Libya a third dictator’s future is on the line. “Never in the history of the Arabs have there been so many popular uprisings which seem to be inspired neither by Islam nor by anti-imperialism, but in the quest for liberal reforms. Half a century earlier in Sharpeville and Soweto, South Africans experienced their own political awakening.”

Prof. Kwandiwe Kondlo, Director of the Centre for Africa Studies, closed the event with a word of thanks to the American academic and his wife, guests and attendees. He said discussions prior to the event revealed that more research has to be done regarding gender issues on the continent.

Prof. Mazrui also participated in conversations at the institute and a media briefing which was hosted earlier the day.

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