Latest News Archive

Please select Category, Year, and then Month to display items

UFS launches Greener SA: planting the seeds of a sustainable future

17 September 2025 | Story Martinette Brits | Photo Martinette Brits and Kaleidoscope Studios

The University of the Free State (UFS) launched Greener SA, a five-year initiative to plant 400 000 trees across South Africa, at the Paradys Experimental Farm on Friday 12 September 2025. Backed by the Mastercard Foundation through the TAGDev 2.0 programme and RUFORUM, the project brings together government, industry, students, and academics around a shared commitment to sustainability and food security. The launch was marked by the planting of the first 100 trees, a symbolic act that set the tone for the years ahead.

Prof Jan-Willem Swanepoel, Director of the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture, reminded the audience that the UFS is one of 12 African universities entrusted with a $100 million investment in agricultural transformation. “This project is not a hit-and-run – it’s about sustainability, inclusivity, and building value chains that empower farmers and entrepreneurs,” he said. He ended with a parable of a farmhand who could ‘sleep when the wind blows,’ urging everyone to be proactive in preparing for inevitable challenges.

Responsibility and partnerships

That call for responsibility was echoed by Elzabe Rockman, Free State MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, who linked Greener SA to the presidential One Million Trees Programme. She cautioned that planting without accountability leads to wasted effort. “If we plant trees, we want to be sure someone takes responsibility for them,” she said, highlighting the need for fire-resistant species, fruit trees in community gardens, and natural borders to replace vulnerable fencing. Looking at the students from Kovsie ACT who joined the launch, she added: “Jobs are not going to fall from the sky. They will come from agriculture and the environment. Harnessing youth energy is the way forward.”

Industry also pledged its support. Representing Empact Group – the sponsor of the trees – Helena Prinsloo described tree planting as an investment in legacy. “At Empact Group, we believe that doing right by our community and our planet is not just a responsibility. It’s a value that defines who we are and how we lead,” she said. Quoting the proverb that societies grow great when people plant trees whose shade they will never sit in, she added: “Today we are sowing seeds of hope, resilience, and opportunities for generations to come.”

Science, vision, and practice

Prof Corli Witthuhn from the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences placed the launch in a global context, pointing to conflict, inequality, and climate change – and the sobering United Nations report showing that only 20% of the sustainability goals have been achieved. For her, the Greener SA project is a response to urgent global challenges. “We want our students to be globally work-ready,” she said. “That means beyond textbooks, and this farm represents exactly that. We don’t want to produce graduates with degrees, we want to produce graduates who can walk into a lab, into a policy meeting, into a business anywhere in the world and make an impact.”

Her message was supported by expert voices. Guest speaker Prof Ben du Toit from Stellenbosch University explained that agroforestry systems can simultaneously provide timber, food, biodiversity, and resilience. “Agroforestry is not planting trees over here and grazing over there – it’s about integration, so that benefits reinforce each other,” he said.

At the Paradys Experimental Farm, this integration is already underway. Johan Barnard, Farm Manager and Junior Lecturer, described how shaded tree pockets will improve grazing fields and protect water resources, while fruit trees planted in partnership with Kovsie ACT will contribute to student nutrition and new food value chains. “We’re capturing value chains and taking it to the next level so that our students have research opportunities and the farm delivers real outputs,” he explained.

The launch of Greener SA showed that tree planting is about much more than beautification. It is a collective commitment – to resilience in the face of global challenges, to science applied in practice, and to building partnerships that prepare the next generation to make an impact.

News Archive

Graduates challenged to fulfil their leadership obligations

2017-12-08

Photo: Johan Roux

Graduation videos

Photo galleries
6 December: Morning
6 December: Afternoon
7 December: Morning
7 December: Afternoon

A total number of 1 226 qualifications, including diplomas, certificates, and degrees, were conferred during the two days of the 2017 End-of-Year Graduation Ceremony which took place on the Bloemfontein Campus of the University of the Free State (UFS). Forty doctorates and 109 master’s degrees were awarded. Most doctorates (19) were awarded in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences which also conferred the biggest number of master’s degrees (27).

Celebrating excellence
Some of the highlights at this year’s graduation ceremonies were when the university honoured Prof Paul Holloway and Marius Botha with honorary doctorates and Joyene Isaacs with the Chancellor’s Medal.

Isaacs, Head of the Department of Agriculture in the Western Cape, who was nominated by the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences for the Chancellor’s Medal, said: “Agriculture is one of those areas people take for granted. With this medal, agriculture can come to the fore. Agriculture is placed in the spotlight and it is important for this country, but also globally, because we look after the food supply. For me agriculture has been a sustainable livelihood but also a career. Everything about agriculture excites me! I hope that through this award I can take agriculture to the next level.”

Prof Holloway, internationally acclaimed expert in the science and technology of surfaces, thin films, and nanoparticles, who received the Honorary Doctorate in Science degree, said: “This award recognises the efforts we (the UFS and the University of Florida in the US) have jointly developed. We introduced the UFS to phosphors and today it (the UFS) has world-wide recognition expertise in this field. We also learnt from them. They brought us technology we did not have before. It was a mutual growth technique and we all benefit from that. If you work together you can achieve remarkable things.”

“It is the greatest honour of my life. I’ve been associated with the UFS for 17 years in the capacity of moderator, examiner and sometimes lecturer.” These were the words of Botha, author and expert in the financial planning circles of South Africa who was nominated for an honorary degree by the School of Financial Planning Law.

Botha told graduates that a qualification in the financial planning field would give you many opportunities. “If you enter almost any financial services organisation in South Africa, you will find senior people there that completed the postgraduate diploma in Financial Planning Law at the UFS,” he said.

During a luncheon that was hosted by Prof Francis Petersen, the UFS Rector and Vice-Chancellor, in honour of these esteemed graduates, he thanked them for the contribution they had made, not only for the UFS, but for advancing science, technology, and the better of society. “The Honorary degrees and Chancellor’s Medal are the highest accolades and recognition that the university can bestow on individuals who have excelled in science or scholarship or have contributed to service to this country. You are exemplary individuals and you make the UFS, our country and the world proud,” he said.

Photo: Johan Roux

Inspiration for the future
Likeleli Monyamane, a UFS Council member, addressed graduates during the morning ceremony on 6 December 2017. She motivated graduates to walk tall and learn to serve our country. “Finding your voice comes with a responsibility to speak for those who do not have a voice,” Monyamane said.

Leah Molatseli, who launched South Africa’s first legal e-commerce website, Lenoma Legal, was the guest speaker at the afternoon session on 6 December 2017. “You are going to start afresh. It is going to feel like you know absolutely nothing and it’s ok. You need to make peace with that in order for you to learn.

“A lot of young people expect instant success when they enter a job. I am 29 and have had three jobs, two side jobs and numerous certificates. But I decided to create my own future. That is what I did with Lenoma Legal. Some people are meant to be ordinary and some extraordinary,” said this young entrepreneur and Kovsie Alumnus.

On the second day of the graduation ceremonies Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, founder and Director of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, challenged the newly graduated alumni to be carriers of hope for Africa. “We need people of skill, spirituality and heart,” he said.

“How do you want others to believe in you if you don’t believe in yourself? We South Africans, we can make things happen. Believe in yourself,” he said.

“The best science you can do is for others. The moment you achieve that, you mean something to someone,” he said.

Prior to dissolving the congregations, Dr Khotso Mokhele, the Chancellor of the UFS, said: “It has taken hard work, commitment, dedication, to walk across the stage. You deserve all of that.”

Interesting facts of the graduation
Among the graduates at these ceremonies was former Miss World 2014, Rolene Strauss. She received a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Degree.

The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences is also very proud of the first group of BAgric students who graduated on the Agricultural College Programme. The eight agriculture students all received the Bachelor of Agriculture degree, majoring in Agricultural Management.

Back

Economic and Management Sciences

Education

Health Sciences

The Humanities

Law

Natural and Agricultural Sciences

Theology and Religion

Open Distance Learning

Business School

We use cookies to make interactions with our websites and services easy and meaningful. To better understand how they are used, read more about the UFS cookie policy. By continuing to use this site you are giving us your consent to do this.

Accept