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2 August 2019
Hello friends and alumni
We hope the past month has been a good one for you, and we look forward to seeing many of you at our upcoming Ukulinga Howard Davis Memorial Symposium on 20 and 21 August. There's more information about our guest speakers in this newsletter, and we look forward to receiving RSVPs by 8 August.
Enjoy reading some of our campus news from the past month!
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Congress Award for PhD Candidate’s Presentation on Nutrient Enrichment in Grasslands
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Doctoral candidate Ms Naledi Zama won the award for the best platform presentation by a young scientist at the Grassland Society of Southern Africa’s (GSSA) 54th Annual Congress in Upington.
Zama, who is completing her studies at UKZN through the Agricultural Research Council’s (ARC) Professional Development Programme, is being supervised by Professor Kevin Kirkman, Dr Michelle Tedder and Dr Ntuthuko Mkhize.
Her research for a PhD in Grassland Science involves examining how 68 years of uninterrupted nutrient enrichment, by way of adding fertilisers, has affected productivity, species diversity and soil properties on a natural South African grassland. She is also looking at how climatic conditions have impacted in the variables mentioned above over the years, which may allow scientists to make predictions as to how climate change may affect grasslands.
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Agrometeorology PhD Candidate Headed to Food Security Centre Summer School in the Philippines
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PMB Campus Management Forum Creates Awareness about Rise Against Hunger
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The Pietermaritzburg Campus Management Forum hosted an awareness campaign for the Rise Against Hunger (RAH) programme that provides free meal packs to students facing food and nutrition insecurity.
Postgraduate students in the Community Nutrition programme in the Discipline of Dietetics and Human Nutrition gathered on the Pietermaritzburg main campus to introduce students who were unfamiliar with RAH to the meal packs it offers. The group, under the supervision of Ms Penny Jarvie, prepared pamphlets about the packs as well as complementary recipes to enhance the flavour and benefits of the meal packs.
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Agrometeorology Hosts First Ever Workshop on Sap Flow Measurement
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Staff from the Discipline of Agrometeorology at UKZN’s School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences (SAEES) hosted a two-day workshop on the Pietermaritzburg campus on the topic of sap flow and heat pulse velocity for 60 participants from various South African universities and research institutions.
The workshop was the first of its kind in the country and was precipitated by the increased popularity in the use of the sap flow and heat pulse velocity techniques locally, and the complete lack of such training in South Africa.
According to Senior Professor of Agrometeorology at UKZN, Professor Michael Savage, sap flow techniques are methods for measuring the transpiration of woody stem tree plants and herbaceous plants, such as maize, sugar cane and soybean. In South Africa, about 67% of the total available water resources are used for irrigation. To increase the efficiency of irrigation systems, and for the preservation of natural systems, timely knowledge of water use is essential. Together with other measurements, sap flow measurements allow for the estimation of evaporation.
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Water Fellowship for Hydrology Masters Student
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Agricultural Economics PhD Candidate Doing Research in Italy
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Ms Lerato Phali, a PhD candidate in UKZN’s Discipline of Agricultural Economics in the School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences, is doing a year-long research fellowship at the University of Foggia in Italy thanks to a Rotary International Global Grant.
Phali’s doctoral research focused on water economics and governance and is being supervised by Professor Maxwell Mudhara and Dr Stuart Ferrer. The work aims to expand knowledge on how to properly manage water resources and use them sustainably and equitably, particularly in the face of climate change and water scarcity.
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Food Gardens at Mtubatuba School for Mandela Day
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UKZN alumnus, Ms Nontuthuko Mgabhi, and Enactus members launched food gardens at Khiphinkunzi Primary School in Mtubatuba for Mandela Day.
Mgabhi appealed to alumni to donate their time or items such as vegetable seedlings, compost, fertilisers and tools to assist in developing the garden at the school. The call was heeded by UKZN alumni and staff who donated money, Friends of Agric* also heeded the call, donating seeds and fertilisers.
The vertical sack farming method - a process that involves planting 25-30 seedlings in a bag to preserve land and water - was demonstrated by Enactus member, Mr Andile Mkhize. While the philanthropic organisation’s Deputy President, Ms Nomqhele Dube and the rest of her team, assisted groups of parents, teachers and pupils in starting their own gardens.
*Special thanks go to Dr Alfred Odindo, Ms Sharon Migeri and Ms Anne Chisa for arranging donations of seeds and fertilisers remaining from the AGPS200 practicals
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Centre for Water Resources Research Games Day
During the vacation period, the Centre for Water Resources Research (CWRR) at UKZN hosted an annual games day where the new student club, the Hydrators, challenged the staff in games of volleyball, cricket, frisbee and more. The games took place on the main campus in Pietermaritzburg.
Staff, thanks to a number of sixes from Prof Schulze, triumphed in the cricket and volleyball matches, with an afternoon game of soccer going to the student Team A.
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Attend the Ukulinga Howard Davis Memorial Symposium
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This year’s theme of ‘DEVELOPING RESILIENCE THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS AND COLLABORATION’ is intended to explore the power of partnerships and collaboration between a wide variety of stakeholders for developing resilience in farming systems, particularly those of smallholder farmers, that are vulnerable to a number of threats in an increasingly less predictable world.
We encourage you to participate if you are interested in discussions about collaborative efforts to ensure resilience, for example climate change adaptation and mitigation, early warning systems, agrometeorology, hydrology, sustainable food systems, ecological infrastructure, learning and partnerships, extension services, land issues, environmental management/sciences, the role of ICS and big data in agriculture, food and nutrition security, climate-resilient agricultural practices, reshaping agricultural value chains, technologies for empowering farmers, women and youth, and organisations, as well as the science-policy interface. We also look forward to sharing good stories about partnerships and building resilience that have transformed lives and communities that will inspire and challenge participants.
We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Howard Davis Farm Trust in their endeavour to see communities benefit from knowledge integration between higher education institutions and agricultural stakeholders, and also acknowledge partnership with the uMngeni Resilience Project for this year’s Symposium.
RVSP by 08 August 2019 to Mrs Christine Cuénod (+27 33 260 6557).
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FESTO MASSAWE is Professor of Crop Science and a former Head of School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham Malaysia, UNM (2012-2018). He is the co-Director of CFF-UNM Doctoral Training Partnership (CFF-UNMC DTP) and a member of the University of Nottingham Senate. He received his PhD from the University of Nottingham, UK and thereafter worked as a Research Fellow in the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham.
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In this role, he coordinated research activities involving five countries (Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Germany and UK). Prior to joining the University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus in 2006, he worked for the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) as plant breeder, where he was responsible for international research for development, specifically managing a Generation Challenge Programme, which involved collaborators from three countries (Nigeria, Senegal and USA). Prof Massawe academic career has been directed towards leadership and management in higher education, capacity development and international research activities. He believes in training and nurturing of global citizens who can carry out world changing research. His current research focuses on underutilised crops and sustainable crop production. He has obtained a diverse portfolio of research grants from research funding bodies as well as industry. He has published over 100 journal articles, book chapters and conference proceedings. He has organized major International Conferences including the 2nd International Conference on Underutilised Crops, which attracted over 240 participants from 45 countries.
Prof Massawe is a Fellow of UK's Higher Education Academy with over 24 years of teaching and supervision experience at undergraduate and higher levels as well as running short courses and preparing distance-learning materials. As a teacher, he has a substantial experience in curriculum development, evaluation and quality assurance. As a lead academic, Prof Massawe played a crucial role in the establishment of BSc (Plant Biotechnology, Biotechnology, Environmental Science and Nutrition) and MSc (Crop Biotechnology, Crop Biotechnology and Entrepreneurship, and International Biosciences) programmes at UNM. In addition to many undergraduate students, Prof Massawe has been involved in the supervision of MPhil and PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and visiting scientists.
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ASHWIN SEETAL is a Specialist in Strategic Water Management at the CSIR's Smart Places. He trained as a trans-disciplinary scientist and is a multi-disciplinary specialist with extensive strategic and operations experience in water and natural resources and its associated sectors. During his 38-year career in higher education, government, business and research, his business and technical acumen and insights have helped him establish a wide network of local and international associations. He is a regular
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speaker and participant at local and international events and an invited lecturer and trainer for a number of local and international institutions.
In addition to his compelling ability to lead multi-disciplinary project teams, he is a consummate strategist, communicator, negotiator and facilitator in the analysis and resolution of complex technical, socio-political, business and management issues. His passion is systems analysis, strategy formulation through to intervention implementation.
His contributions to changes in the water sector in South Africa are in various disciplines and include: laboratory analytical services; sector and organisational change; legislative reform; water quality management; water use allocations and authorisations; compliance and enforcement; institutional establishment; programme configuration and implementation; and, youth development. Many aspects of his work have contributed to the current and previous organisational structure, policy, legislative and implementation processes in the sector. He has shared many of his experiences with developed and developing countries undertaking focussed sector interventions or reforms, in the capacity as an advisor or expert.
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