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Opus Cactus
Prof Maryna Boshoff from the Department of Sustainable Food Systems and Development, Lerato Mamabolo (UFS graduate, now employed at OPUS Cactus), and Sotirios Pilafidis, Head of Research and Development at OPUS Cactus, at the XI International Congress on Cacti as Food, Fodder and Other Uses, hosted by the FAO-ICARDA CactusNet in Tenerife, Canary Islands.

The University of the Free State (UFS) has formalised a collaboration with OPUS Cactus, a pioneering biotech company focused on sustainable cactus-based farming and biorefineries in semi-arid regions. This partnership builds on OPUS Cactus’ expansion at the historic Waterkloof Research Station near Bloemfontein and combines the UFS’ academic expertise with industry innovation to promote climate-smart agriculture and economic development.

OPUS Cactus, led by Joeri van den Bovenkamp-Hofman, CEO, and Sotirios Pilafidis, Head of Research and Development (R&D), specialises in transforming marginal, non-arable land into productive, resource-efficient ecosystems by cultivating the drought-tolerant Opuntia cactus. This versatile biomass supports renewable bioenergy, animal feed, food production, fermentation feedstock, and sustainable biomaterials, while contributing to carbon capture and climate mitigation efforts.

“Our mission is to unlock the full potential of Opuntia biomass for sustainable bioenergy, food, and biomaterials, advancing regenerative agriculture and climate action,” says Van den Bovenkamp-Hofman. OPUS Cactus operates dual hubs: its headquarters and R&D lab in Groningen, the Netherlands, and the flagship 1 000-hectare Waterkloof Research Centre in the Free State. The Waterkloof facility serves as a commercial farm, research platform, and demonstration site for regenerative farming techniques.

The UFS collaboration involves multiple departments, including Sustainable Food Systems and Development, Soil, Crop and Climate Sciences, and Microbiology and Biochemistry. Profs Maryna Boshoff and Carlien Pohl-Albertyn, alongside Dr Gesine Coetzer, provide academic leadership in the partnership.

Prof Boshoff explains, “This industry-academia collaboration aims to develop innovative projects utilising cactus-based products. It builds on decades of cactus research at the UFS, enabling the translation of scientific knowledge into real-world impact through scale-up and commercialisation.”

 

Bridging academic research and commercial innovation to promote climate-smart agriculture

At the core of the partnership is the Waterkloof Research Centre, home to 42 spineless Burbank cactus pear cultivars. The facility acts as a ‘living laboratory’, integrating empirical research with commercial-scale farming. “Waterkloof now offers students and researchers access to operational infrastructure that cannot be replicated in conventional academic settings,” says Prof Boshoff.

Continuing projects at Waterkloof include biogas production through an anaerobic digester, regenerative agriculture practices such as cover cropping and reduced tillage, advanced plant biotechnology to breed superior cultivars, fermentation research for alternative proteins, and the development of novel fermented foods and sustainable biomaterials.

The collaboration also plays a critical role in conserving Opuntia genetic diversity and evaluating cultivars across South Africa’s varied agro-ecological zones. “Research done by UFS and ARC scientists on cultivar selection and cultivation is applied and scaled up through OPUS Cactus’ commercial operations,” Prof Boshoff adds.

This partnership provides valuable hands-on experience and career pathways for postgraduate students and young researchers. “We offer internships and employment opportunities, with several recent UFS graduates already joining our R&D team,” says Pilafidis. “We actively seek motivated graduates passionate about sustainable agriculture and bioengineering.”

By converting semi-arid landscapes into productive, carbon-sequestering ecosystems, the UFS-OPUS Cactus collaboration exemplifies how scientific innovation, entrepreneurship, and environmental stewardship can drive climate resilience, food security, and sustainable economic growth.

“OPUS Cactus is a win for the environment, communities, and business alike,” concludes Van den Bovenkamp-Hofman.

News Archive

UFS receives R13,7 Million for Research into Prehistoric Organisms
2007-03-27

Some of the guests attending the launch of the research contract are: Dr Siyabulela Ntutela (Deputy Director: Biotechnology at the Department of Science and Technology), Dr Godfrey Netswera (Manager of Thuthuka and the Support Programme at the National Research Foundation (NRF)), Dr Esta van Heerden (Platform Manager and lecturer at the Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology at the UFS), Mr Butana Mboniswa (Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD), and Mr Vuyisele Phehani (Portfolio Manager for BioPAD).
Photo: Leonie Bolleurs

The University of the Free State (UFS) has been awarded a massive R13,7 million contract to conduct research into prehistoric micro-organisms which live under extreme conditions, for example in mineshafts.

This is one of the biggest research contracts awarded to the UFS in recent years.

The biotechnology research contract was awarded to the UFS by BioPAD, a South African biotechnology company that brokers partnerships between researchers, entrepreneurs, business, government and other stakeholders to promote innovation and create sustainable biotechnology businesses.

The project is endorsed by the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Foundation (NRF), which contributes to the bursaries of the 17 postgraduate students on the programme.

The contract involves the establishment of a Platform for Metagenomics -  a technique which allows researchers to extract the DNA from microbes in their natural environment and investigate it in a laboratory. 

“Through this platform we will be able to understand deepmine microbial populations
and their potential application in the search for life in outer space.  It is most likely
that, if life were to be found on other planets in our solar system, it would probably
resemble that which existed millions of years ago on earth.  Apart from all this, these
organisms have unique properties one can exploit in biotechnological application for
South Africa and its community,” said Dr Esta van Heerden, platform manager and
lecturer at the UFS Department of Microbial, Biochemical and Food Biotechnology.
She is assisted by her collegues, Prof. Derek Litthauer and Dr Lizelle Piater.

“The platform aims to tap into the unique genetic material in South African mines
which will lead to the discovery of new genes and their products.  These new and unique products will find application in the medical field (anti-cancer, anti-bacterial en anti-viral cures), the industrial sector (nanotechnology, commercial washing agents and the food industry), environmental sector (pollution management, demolition of harmful metals and other toxic waste),” said Dr Van Heerden.

According to Dr Van Heerden, the Metagenomics Platforms stems from the Life in
Extreme Environments (LExEN) programme which was started in 1994 by Princeton
University in the United States of America (USA) in South African mines with grants
from among others the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and
the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA.  Other international collaborators
on the project include Geosynec Consultants Inc. (USA), Oak Ridge National
Laboratory (USA), the University of Tennessee (USA) and in South Africa the
Universities of the Witwatersrand, North West and Limpopo and companies like BHP
Billiton, MINTEK and mining companies like Harmony, Gold Fields and AngloGold
Ashanti.

The research field laboratory of the Metagenomics Platform, which was situated in
Glen Harvey, was moved to the Main Campus of the UFS in Bloemfontein.  “In this
way the university has become the central hub for all research programmes.  We are
also the liaison between the LExEN programme and the various mining companies
involved,” said Dr Van Heerden.  The new laboratory was introduced during the
launch of the research contract.

“Our decision to commit BioPAD to this project stems from the company’s commitment to advance human capacity development to strengthen South Africa’s research infrastructure.  It is also part of our aim to create and protect intellectual property,” said Mr Butana Mboniswa, Chief Executive Officer of BioPAD.

Talking on behalf of the UFS senior management, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Vice-Rector
of Academic Operations, said that the university shares the excitement to be part of
the exploration of unknown forms of life, the discovery of new genes and
their products and in applying newly gained knowledge to better understand our
universe.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison 
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
27 March 2007

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