Stellenbosch University (SU) rolled the red carpet out when Queen Máxima of the Netherlands visited the multimillion-rand horticulture centre at the Welgevallen Experimental Farm in Stellenbosch last Friday (20 October).
The visit to the state-of-the-art centre formed part of the Dutch royals King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima’s three-day state visit to focus on ties and partnerships between the two countries, at the invitation of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The climate-smart HortiDemo Centre, officially launched last October, is a collaboration among SU, local and Dutch companies and the Dutch government. Eikestadnuus previously reported that the centre showcases Dutch innovation and technology within a South African horticultural context (“New horticulture centre in Stellies”, 3 November 2022).
On Friday’s visit Queen Máxima was taken on a tour by SU’s Dean of AgriSciences, Professor Danie Brink. She spoke to some of the students and local farmers working at the centre.
Local farmers shared how the centre and its resources were helping them overcome farming challenges, while student-interns shared how the project was helping them put theory to practice.
Kholosa Nakani (26), an intern at the centre who completed her postgraduate diploma in agronomy last year, said she was honoured to share her work with Queen Máxima. “It’s not every day you get to speak to a queen, so I was honoured and excited about speaking to her about my work. My focus is on ensuring we protect the crops by controlling the climate but also the different pests that enter the space.”
Nakani will complete her internship at the beginning of next year, but hopes to get an opportunity to come back to the centre and learn more.
Asked by Queen Máxima what she would like to change and improve about the facility, plant and soil-science graduate Jancke van Wyk shared she would want the centre to become even more climate-friendly by getting rid of generators used during enforced bouts of load shedding.
“One thing I would like to see change is our energy use,” Van Wyk pointed out. “Currently, when there is load shedding, we rely on generators, but that is not really climate-smart. So at the moment we are working with our engineering students to see if we can install solar panels to make the centre more climate-friendly.”
Professor Hester Klopper, SU’s deputy vice-chancellor for Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs, expressed her gratitude for the Dutch government’s support of this innovative facility. She hopes that the collaboration between SU and the Dutch will continue to grow.
