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PhD graduate contributes to the development of smallholder farmers
Author: Corporate Communication and Marketing/Korporatiewe Kommunikasie en Bemarking - Sandra Mulder
Published: 04/04/2022
​Dr Obvious Mapiye is convinced that his childhood experience with animal and crop farming on a smallholding laid the foundation for his current achievements, which includes completing his doctoral studies and conceptualising the creation of a software solution to enhance smallholder farming systems.

This week, Mapiye was awarded an PhD in AgriSciences specialising in Sustainable Agriculture at Stellenbosch University's (SU) April graduation. His PhD studies led to the development of digital advisory software called the Livestock Management Database System (LMDS). This system is designed to help farmers access useful and data-driven agricultural information and guidance according to their specific farming activities.

The system, which can be accessed from any smart device, recently earned Mapiye a 2022 translational fellowship from Innovus, a division of SU that is responsible for technology transfer, entrepreneurial support and development and innovation.

The translational fellowships provide Master's or PhD students who recently graduated or are close to completing their studies the opportunity to develop and commercialise the innovation resulting from their research. The objectives of the programme are two-fold – to translate the world-class research performed at SU into innovative products and services that positively impact society; and to enable recent graduates to pursue an entrepreneurial career upon graduation while developing entrepreneurial, technology transfer and commercialisation skills.

In addition to the fellowship, Mapiye's project also received a seed fund injection of R690 000 from the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), an entity of the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), for commercialisation of the LMDS.

“I am very excited. Honestly, graduating with a PhD at SU means much to me. I put in extra effort to complete [my studies] and faced many challenges, including a lack of financial assistance at the beginning of the course and the Covid-19 restrictions, which derailed the field activities. I had to carefully cultivate the skills of time management, self-discipline and multitasking into the whole research process," said Mapiye.

Learning journey

Mapiye, who hails from the Mhondoro Ngezi farming district in Zimbabwe, said his upbringing inspired his academic career.

“I was involved in rearing cattle, chickens and goats and helped to grow vegetables and grain crops at home. This background nurtured my passion for promoting the growth and development of smallholder farming systems through research and innovation. I planned my academic career accordingly."

In 2005, he graduated with a National Diploma in Agriculture from the University of Zimbabwe's (UZ) Gwebi College. After two years of gaining work experience as a greenhouse tomato production manager, he enrolled for a BSc in Agricultural Economics at UZ which he completed in 2012. He then joined Fintrac Inc's Zimbabwe Agricultural Income and Employment Development programme (ZimAIED), where his concern regarding the sustainability of smallholder farming intensified.

Mapiye said he became more focused on developing solutions that could assist farmers with upscaling their production, and in 2015 he joined SU's MSc in Sustainable Agriculture programme. His interest in supporting farmers through technological innovations saw him join a multidisciplinary development team at SU's Faculty of AgriSciences, comprising Prof Kennedy Dzama (Department of Animal Sciences, SU), Dr Annelin Molotsi (Department of Animal Sciences, SU), and Prof Godswill Makombe from the University of Pretoria's Gordon Institute of Business Science. Joubert de Wet, Innovus' technology transfer manager who is coordinating the commercialisation of the LMDS, completes the team. Through its development work, the team focused on improving the sustainability of commercial-oriented smallholder cattle producers in South Africa.

“I realised that the development and introduction of innovations like the LMDS are possible. The use of such information and communication technologies (ICTs) will enable us to revolutionise existing extension systems by helping them deliver timely and appropriate advisory services with minimum costs being incurred," he said.

Part of the research project, which focused on understanding the perceptions of cattle farmers in the North-West about the usefulness of the developed LMDS, also received funding from SU's Division for Social Impact and the National Research Fund's Thuthuka programme, which allowed Mapiye to complete his fieldwork.

The future

Mapiye plans to remain in Stellenbosch to further develop his project with Innovus. Firstly, a minimum viable product (MVP) of the LMDS needs to be designed and tested in a real-life situation before the system can be commercialised. He said a digital tech developing company has already been identified to create the software of the LMDS.

Mapiye envisages that the LMDS will help broaden farmers' knowledge about their specific farming activities and build on their skills to increase their productivity, competitiveness and sustainability. The system can help upscale smallholder livestock production through improved availability of farm data and hence accessibility to timely and tailored information.

“Deployment of the LMDS will present an opportunity to transform the South African agricultural extension model from largely supply-centred to demand-centred and participatory. The productivity and sustainability of farmers will increase, and subsequently employment creation and food security for the country and the region," Mapiye explained.







Photographer: Stefan Els