SOUTH AFRICA - Universities: relevant role-players in agricultural research [SAGrain, June 2022]

Title:

Universities: relevant role-players in agricultural research

 

Author:

Valerie Cilliers

 

Published:

SAGrain, 6 June 2022

https://sagrainmag.co.za/2022/06/06/universities-relevant-role-players-in-agricultural-research/

 

From the article:

Research is an integral part of agriculture and at the centre of it are the agricultural faculties at universities nationwide. The research conducted at these faculties is of immense value to the sector and the future of sustainable agriculture and food security in the country.  

 

As part of our focus on tertiary institutions, SA Graan/Grain found out more about the current research conducted at the University of Pretoria (UP), the University of the Free State (UFS) and the North-West University (NWU).

University of the Free State (UFS), South Africa - First-ever Academy for Multilingualism to promote three indigenous languages at UFS

Title:

First-ever Academy for Multilingualism to promote three indigenous languages at UFS

 

Author:

Athenkosi Mndende

 

Published:

Parent24, 26 April 2021

https://www.news24.com/parent/learn/tertiary-education/first-ever-academy-for-multilingualism-to-promote-three-indigenous-languages-at-ufs-20210428

 

From the article:

* The University of the Free State is promoting Sesotho, isiZulu and Afrikaans

* The university plans to use multilingualism to improve academic excellence

* Management has made the promotion and development of languages a priority

University of the Free State (UFS), South Africa - Dr WA Lombard wins international award for his stock-theft research

Title:

Dr WA Lombard wins international award for his stock-theft research

 

Published:

University of the Free State (UFS), 14 December 2020

https://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item/campus-news/2020/december/dr-wa-lombard-wins-international-award-for-his-stock-theft-research

From the article:

A researcher and lecturer from the University of the Free State (UFS) Department of Agricultural Economics has received an international award for his research on the economic impact of stock theft in South Africa.

University of the Free State (UFS), 18 June 2020 - Loss of income due to COVID-19 significantly affects nutrition and hunger in the home

Title:
Loss of income due to COVID-19 significantly affects nutrition and hunger in the home

Author:
Dr Chantell Witten

Published:
University of the Free State (UFS), 18 June 2020
https://www.ufs.ac.za/templates/news-archive-item/campus-news/2020/june/loss-of-income-due-to-covid-19-significantly-affects-nutrition-and-hunger-in-the-home

From the article:
On 26 March 2020, the President declared a national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic as it started to emerge in South Africa. Since then and several weeks into the lockdown, Statistics South Africa (2020) has provided evidence which many intuitively knew would be more devastating to households than the coronavirus itself – loss of income and the negative effects that follow hunger. Stats SA reported that the percentage of respondents receiving no income increased from 5,2% before the lockdown to 15,4% by the sixth week of the national lockdown. Given that the majority of South Africans depend on the informal labour market, such as informal traders and casual workers, this lack of income would hit millions of households. Furthermore, Stats SA also reported a decrease in formal wage/salary earners for the same period, from 76,6% before the national lockdown to 66,7% by the sixth week of national lockdown.

While South Africa is food secure at national level, millions of households are food insecure. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) 1996 definition of food security, this simply means that there is not enough food at all times for all the people in a household to have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.  In short, people are hungry and at greater risk for ill health – physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  A hungry man is an angry man. Likewise, a hungry nation is an angry nation.