Academic appointed as Agricultural Research Council deputy
A food security academic at UKZN has been appointed as the ARC Deputy Chairperson.
DOCTOR Joyce Chitja of the African Centre for Food Security (ACFS) in the School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences (SAEES) at University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), has been appointed deputy chairperson of the board of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) for a three-year term.
Chitja has been an ARC board member for two terms. This is her third term where she will serve in this new role. She said she is honoured to be appointed to this new role.
“I feel positive in this new role despite the enormous challenges that agriculture is facing in the country and globally. The ARC team I serve alongside, are capable and highly committed; some of the country’s best scientists are working in the ARC,” she said.
Chitja said she sees her position as a serious responsibility as the ARC is a state-owned entity responsible for agricultural research and for upholding food security in the country, in every sphere of agriculture. Chitja’s responsibilities will involve supporting the strategic goals of the ARC, while also filling a second role as chair of the ARC’s Research, Development and Evaluation Committee.
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UKZN Vice Chancellor, Dr Albert van Jaarsveld, issued a statement to the university community congratulating Chitja on her appointment. He said: “The Agricultural Research Council plays a vital role in supporting the agricultural sector and conducts research with partners, develops human capital and fosters innovation in support of the sector. Dr Chitja’s experience as an agricultural scientist and food security expert with a rich understating of agriculture in South Africa especially the challenges facing the small-scale farming sector, will no doubt be of great value to the ARC Board.”
In 2008 Dr Chitja was one of the first two students to graduate from UKZN’s Food Security programme with a doctorate in Food Security.
After two short stints of working in government, she re-joined UKZN in 2010 as a lecturer and later was appointed as the Acting Director of the African Centre for Food Security. She also sits on the board of the Agribusiness Development Agency (ADA).
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Dr Chitja is very passionate about uplifting smallholder farmers particularly women farmers and has worked with the communities of Centocow outside Bulwer and Swayimani in Greytown.
“The appointment to the ARC Board is in recognition of the excellence and passion with which Dr Chitja conducts her work. UKZN is proud of researchers like Dr Chitja because their work not only seeks to make an increasing intellectual impact internationally, but it mainly serves to benefit society in terms of addressing immediate challenges and societal needs. We are confident that she will serve the ARC Board with distinction as she continues to do here at UKZN. We wish Dr Chitja all the best in her very important new role,” said van Jaarsveld.
Chitja was also part of an international team on the organising committee for the third International Conference on Global Food Security in Cape Town this month, where she chaired a theme and has been involved in selecting papers.
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