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Research chair tackles food insecurity by breeding climate-resilient crops

18 October 2024 | Story André Damons | Photo Supplied

A new research chair at the University of the Free State (UFS), led by Prof Maryke Labuschagne, a Professor of Plant Breeding in the UFS Department of Plant Sciences, hopes to increase food and nutritional security in South Africa through crops that have intrinsic high nutritional value.

The Breeding Climate-Resilient Vegetables and Grains research chair was established in partnership with the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) and the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD). It will be hosted within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (NAS) alongside the other 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.

The aim of the new ARC-DALLRD-UFS research chair, explains Prof Labuschagne, who is also leading the National Research Foundation (NRF) SARChI Chair in Diseases and Quality of Field Crops, is to breed climate resilient crops with high levels of nutrients such as iron, zinc, provitamin A and essential amino acids, as well as disease resistance, in collaboration with the ARC.

Breeding of climate resilient crops

“We are all aware of the need for food security in South Africa. Climate change is already negatively impacting food production. With this research chair, in collaboration with the ARC, we hope to increase food security through crops that have intrinsic high nutritional value, for example, high levels of iron and zinc and provitamin A, of which there are high levels of deficiency in our population, and at the same time increase climate resilience (such as heat and drought tolerance) in these crops.

“We will be working on breeding climate-resilient, nutrient-rich and disease-resistant pigeon pea and cowpea cultivars; maize rich in provitamin A, iron and zinc; highly nutritious sweet and bitter sorghum; rust-resistant and good-quality wheat; high-yielding and nutritious indigenous vegetables such as amaranth and amadumbi; and research on potato, sweet potato and cassava for human and industrial uses,” says Prof Labuschagne.

The new chair will complement the research that is already being done for the SARChI chair, but with the ARC as partner. It will combine the expertise and resources of Plant Breeding at the UFS with that of the ARC-VIMP (Vegetable, Industrial and Medicinal Plants), ARC-GC (Grain Crops) and ARC-SC (Small Grains). The chair research will include orphan crops such as cowpea, pigeon pea and indigenous vegetables, as well as root and tuber crops such as potato and cassava, and cereals such as wheat, maize and sorghum.

Collaborative research

“The focus of this chair is on collaborative research and student training with the ARC, but the research area will still focus on the development of nutrient-rich and disease-resistant food-security crops. It will also have an additional focus of climate resilience, and the inclusion of orphan crops indigenous to Africa and South Africa.”

Prof Labuschagne says it is exciting that collaborative research can now be done with the unique expertise and resources (laboratory equipment, fields, greenhouses etc.) of several research institutes for the benefit of food and nutritional security in South Africa. Doing this research in a large team with lots of expertise in different areas will certainly yield more and better results with a larger impact on food security.

“This is a very exciting development in agricultural research now that we are part of a large team all working towards the same goal of improving food security, sharing expertise and resources and also doing collaborative training of MSc and PhD students who will become the scientists of tomorrow, taking this quest into the future.”

Prof Vasu Reddy, Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation, says this chair is aligned to the UFS Vision 130 strategy, shaped by excellence and impact, sustainability and society. “This distinguished chair led by Prof Labuschagne recognises exceptional achievement and pre-eminence in the field to catalyse and ignite new talent and new knowledge. It marks an exciting opportunity to deepen our understanding of breeding climate-resilient vegetables and grains aligned to our expertise in agriculture.”

News Archive

UFS and Mexico forge links

2006-03-30

Some of the guests attending the signing of the memorandum of agreement were in front from the left Prof Wijnand Swart (Chairperson: Centre for Plant Health Management at the UFS), His Excellency Mauricio de Maria y Campos (Ambassador of Mexico in Southern Africa), Prof Magda Fourie (Vice-Rector: Academic Planning at the UFS) and Dr José Sergio Barrales Domínguez (Rector of the University of Chapingo in Mexico).
Photo: Stephen Collett

UFS and Mexico forge links
The Centre for Plant Health Management (CePHMa) in the Department of Plant Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS) is presenting its first international conference. The conference started yesterday and will run until tomorrow (Friday 31 March 2006) on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The conference is the first on cactus pear (or prickly pear) in South Africa since 1995. It coincides with 2006 being declared as International Year of Deserts and Desertification by the United Nations General Assembly.

During the opening session of the conference yesterday a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed between CePHMa and the University of Chapingo (Universidad Autonoma Chapingo) in Mexico. The signing ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Mexico in Southern Africa, His Excellency Mauricio de Maria y Campos, the Rector of the University of Chapingo, Dr José Sergio Barrales Domínguez, and the Vice-Rector: Academic Planning of the UFS, Prof Magda Fourie, amongst other important dignitaries.

“South Africa and Mexico have a lot in common where agricultural practices in semi-arid areas and the role of the cactus pear are concerned,” said Prof Wijnand Swart, Chairperson of CePHMa at the opening of the conference.

He said that the MOU is the result of negotiations between CePHMa and the Ambassador of Mexico in Southern Africa over the past 12 months.

“The MOU facilitates the negotiation of international cooperative academic initiatives between the two institutions. This entails the exchange of students and staff members of the UFS, curriculum development, research and community service,” said Prof Swart.

“During the next two days, various areas of interest will be discussed. This includes perspectives from commercial cactus pear farmers in South Africa, the health management of cactus pear orchards, selection of new cultivars of cactus pear, and the nutritional and medicinal value of the crop,” said Prof Swart.

In his welcoming message Prof Swart explained that in recent years there has been increased interest in the cactus pear for the important role it can play in sustainable agricultural systems in marginal areas of the world. These plants have developed phenological and physiological adaptations to sustain their development in adverse environments.

“The cactus pear can serve as a life saving crop to both humans and animals living in marginal regions by providing a highly digestible source of energy, water, minerals and protein,” said Prof Swart.

“In an age when global warming and its negative impact on earth’s climate has become an everyday subject of discussion, the exploitation of salt and drought tolerant crops will undoubtedly have many socio-economic benefits to communities inhabiting semi-arid regions,” said Prof Swart.

“Plantations of cactus pear grown for fruit, forage and vegetable production, as well as for natural red dye produced from the cactus scale insect known as cochineal have, over the last two decades, been established in many countries in South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The crop and its products have not only become important in international markets, but also in local markets across the globe,” said Prof Swart.

Detailed discussions on the implementation of the MOU will take place between CePHMa and the University of Chapingo after the conference.

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

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