The Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture’s mandate to strengthen the collaboration be-tween the University and local farmers in addressing food security and to contribute to the sustain-able development goals of ending hunger, was enhanced when more than 160 livestock farmers from Collins Chabane, Musina, Makhado, and Thulamela municipalities within the Vhembe District Municipality gathered for a full day workshop organised by Ms. Thifheli Kutama, the Experimental Farm Manager in collaboration with Professor Maluta, the Director of Green Technology Confucius Institute at the University of Venda.
The workshop was divided in two sessions. The first session included presentations from faculty experts and external speakers who discussed climate change, smart agriculture, and sustainable energy in the agricultural sector. The workshop aimed to provide farmers with the knowledge and tools to address and overcome industry challenges. Speakers included Dr. Pulane Sebothomo from the Agricultural Research Council, who presented on enhancing pig production and nutrition. She also discussed alternative feed sources of non-conventional feed sources that farmers could explore to supplement pig feed; Dr. Livhuwani Masevhe from the Department of Science and Inno-vation discussed the connection between climate change, energy, and food security. He stressed the significance of shifting to precision farming through the adoption of advanced technologies to enhance production efficiency and farm productivity; Professor David Tinarwo from the Physics Department in the Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Agriculture spoke about sustainable ener-gy in farming practices. He demonstrated how farmers could generate biogas energy from farm waste and utilise the by-product as a liquid fertiliser for their crops; Mr. Makhado Nengovhela from Paulus April Consulting discussed environmental compliance requirements in detail.
This included topics such as water rights and licensing, as well as compliance with the National Environmental Management Act of 1998 and its amendments, particularly the Environmental Impact Regulations Listing no. 1 of 2014; Dr. Rodney Managa from the Human Sciences Research Council [HSRC] emphasised the importance of supporting local livestock farmers in adopting climate-smart innovations.
He highlighted successful programmes the government had already committed to through the Department of Science and Innovation; Mr. Donald Hlongwane from SEDA explained the funding options available to support farmers financially and how they assist farmers by helping them develop and draft business plans. He also emphasised that farming is not just about food production but also a business; Mr. Emmanuel Mudau from Mathuba Genetics shared his practical experience and offered valuable guidance to the farmers who were in attendance, helping them improve their farming practices.
L-R: Prof Eric Maluta, the Director of Green Technology Confucius Institute at the University of Venda moderated the panel discussion and Experimental farm Manager Ms. Thifheli Kutama explaining the purpose of the livestock workshop
n the second session, a panel discussion was moderated by Professor Eric Maluta and Ms. Thifheli Kutama. In this session, farmers had the opportunity to interact with the experts and ask ques-tions about their daily challenges and experiences in farming. The panel of experts included all speakers and Dr. Masiza Mikasi from the Department of Animal Science in the Faculty of Science, Engineering, and Agriculture. Each of these experts provided a unique perspective and expertise to the discussion.
The faculty is planning to have more workshops such as this to engage with the local farmers that would include very specific and detailed topics such as poultry production, pig farming, cattle farm-ing, and small stock farming. These workshops would allow farmers to engage in more specialised learning and discussions tailored to their farming practices.
Prof Natasha Potgieter, Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Agriculture, officially opening the Livestock workshop
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