​Three lecturers from SU Soil Science Department: Drs. C. Clarke, A. Hardie and A. Rozanov were invited to join the World Soil Day (5 Dec 2016) round table discussion on Food Security that was hosted by the Timiriazev Agricultural Academy and supported by the Eurasion Centre for Food Security, World Bank and FAO. Ms Liesl Wiese (a PhD student at the Dept. Soil Science, SU) also attended the round table as the representative of the Global Soil Partnership, which is funded by the FAO. The main focus of the discussion was on addressing the problems of training soil scientists in Africa and Asia to face the challenges of land degradation and sustainable intensification of land management. The Stellenbosch presentations were well-received and further co-operation in this directions is expected between Stellenbosch University, ECFS, FAO and RUFORUM.

During the World Soil Day event the soil museums from Wageningen (The Netherlands), St. Petersburg and Moscow (Russia) show cased their research, data collection and educational programs for the general public and school learners. The experience of the leading soil museums would be useful in promoting the South African Terroirs, particularly in wine-making regions of the country.