The African Forage, Fodder, Feed and Food Reference Laboratory launched its cutting-edge lab, services and expertise at a networking open day on 28 June 2023 at Innovation Africa, University of Pretoria. Prof Wayne Truter welcomed the guests and expressed his excitement about the various activities carried out at the laboratory and how such could benefit industry. “There is a huge concern about fundamental sciences and applied sciences. Pasture science is one of those sciences and disciplines that lie between different sciences, making it a truly versatile and transdisciplinary endeavour that often has many areas of influence, impact and benefit” said Prof Truter.
Malcolm Holman, Managing Director of AGRI Enviro Solutions delivered an insightful address on forage and pasture quality instrumentation and technology. Mr Holman stressed the importance of having Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) technological capabilities and its effectiveness in obtaining instant field results. “I am very proud to be a part of this project. Someone involved with research or doing field work could be looking at their crop and be interested in knowing the protein content. This could be used for promotional transactions, quality of the product and how it relates to breeding and fertilisation regimes, with an NIR piece of equipment you could get those results in a couple of seconds and that allows for specific strategic decision-making” he explained.
He further stated the contribution that NIR has made in agriculture for the past seven years and how it has improved livestock nutrition, feed quality, supported efficient farming practices and improved overall health, performance and decision-making.
Prof Truter emphasised the relevancy of the AF4RICA LAB and its contribution to applied research. “We have to do things scientifically, so we do a lot of replication and we run many samples through the lab to be able to get accurate and reliable data that is scientifically accurate and statistically acceptable.”
Enterprises UP are excited to be able to bring together industry partners and UP expertise to position an analytical laboratory with these capabilities to provide solutions to industry around the issues of Forage, Fodder, Feed and Food quality analysis.
For any needs regarding wet chemistry, crude fat and/or NIR analysis, please contact Kgothatso Mangole.
Kgothatso Mangole
Business Developer
Tel: +27 (0) 12 434 2332
Email: kgothatso.mangole@enterprises.up.ac.za
Click here for an informative video regarding the AF4RICA Lab.
