After an initial period of 3 years ending at the end of 2022, Villa Crop Protection, one of the leading suppliers of crop protection solutions to distributors in South Africa, has renewed the Chair in Plant Health position for a further period of 3 years until the end of 2025. Prof Nick Kotzé leads the initiative. Key functions earmarked for this agreement include: identifying and prioritising specific farm level grower research needs, and addressing it through targeted scientific research done by postgraduate students and their academic supervisors; the provision of relevant postgraduate bursaries to the tune of R1 million per year, to support the training of future agriculturalists who are equipped with the necessary knowledge tools needed by the local agricultural sector; and the roll-out of accredited short courses by Stellenbosch University to expand the skill levels of agriculturalists already working in the local industry. At present 13 short courses are presented annually to serve industry needs.
Contact:
Prof Nick Kotzé