Tiger Brands and Stellenbosch University have launched a three-year research partnership aimed at strengthening food security, agricultural resilience and food safety across South Africa.
The partnership brings together the university’s Faculty of AgriSciences and Tiger Brands’ experience across the food value chain to develop practical responses to challenges facing farmers, food producers and consumers.
Research will focus on agronomy, agricultural economics and food safety, with particular attention given to improving farm productivity and profitability, strengthening local agricultural value chains and building resilience to climate and economic pressures.
Key crops including wheat, oats, sorghum, tomatoes, groundnuts and beans will form part of cross-disciplinary research into agricultural production and regenerative farming systems.
Tiger Brands CEO Tjaart Kruger said strengthening South Africa’s food system required investment in research capable of delivering practical results.
“Building a more resilient food system requires us to think beyond today’s challenges and invest in the knowledge and partnerships that will secure future supply,” Kruger said.
“By combining SU’s research excellence with our experience across the food value chain, we have an opportunity to turn research into practical impact that strengthens productivity, competitiveness, and access to quality, affordable food.”
The collaboration will also invest in postgraduate students and emerging researchers, creating a pipeline of skills needed by South Africa’s agricultural and food sectors.
Researchers, students, producers and industry professionals will be able to exchange knowledge through lectures, short courses, conferences, seminars and technical collaboration.
The work will extend across food science and technology, microbiology, chemistry and good agricultural practices.
The agreement builds on an existing relationship between Tiger Brands and Stellenbosch University through the Centre for Food Safety.
Stellenbosch University Rector and Vice-Chancellor Professor Deresh Ramjugernath said the partnership demonstrated how universities and businesses could combine their resources to address wider societal challenges.
“Tiger Brands’ support will enable us not only to advance important research, but also to invest in our students and emerging researchers, strengthen capacity, share knowledge more widely and support education across the food and agricultural sector,” Ramjugernath said.
Professor Gunnar Sigge, Chair of the Department of Food Science, said the investment would strengthen both research and the skills of graduates entering the workforce.
“We believe the confidence that Tiger Brands has in the Department and the Faculty of AgriSciences stems from many years of delivering industry relevant research and solutions based on sound science,” Sigge said.
“This partnership not only contributes to the food system in South Africa as a whole but enhances the development and skills of our graduates entering the workforce.”
Professor Pieter Gouws, Director of the Centre for Food Safety, said the partnership could help connect scientific research more directly with challenges facing South Africa’s food system.
“The initiative will achieve greater social impact to address South African challenges such as agriculture, food safety, food security and sustainability,” Gouws said.
He added that developing postgraduate students and emerging researchers would help build the next generation of scientific and agricultural leadership.
The partnership comes as agriculture faces increasing pressure from climate change, constraints on natural resources and the need to maintain reliable supplies of affordable food.
Kruger said those challenges could not be addressed by individual organisations working independently.
“No organisation can solve the challenges of climate-change and supply chain competitiveness on its own,” he said.
“By working together, we can find practical solutions, rooted in scientific rigour, that strengthen South Africa’s food system for a more affordable and food-secure future.”
