By Lloyd Phillips
A R12,5 million endowment by multinational gold-mining company AngloGold Ashanti has enabled the Eastern Cape’s University of Fort Hare to establish a research chair in dairy science and technology at its Faculty of Science and Agriculture.
According to a statement by the university, this marks the first time in Fort Hare’s 108-year history that it has launched a research chair endowed by a listed company with a global footprint.
The statement explains that AngloGold Ashanti’s support was a response to the university’s desire to amplify its impact on dairy science through its longstanding 50/50 partnership with Amadlelo Agri in the Fort Hare Dairy Farm.
“Amadlelo Agri was established in 2004 by a group of commercial farmers from the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal with the unrepentant goal of facilitating the transformation of the dairy sector,” the entity’s website states.
Fort Hare’s statement adds: “This pivotal occasion [of AngloGold Ashanti’s support] aligns well with the university’s renewal trajectory, including the forthcoming qualification in dairy science [that is] a first for the country, and the institution’s identification to establish South Africa’s second veterinary school.”
In its statement, AngloGold Ashanti explains that its endowment for the chair in dairy science and technology is part of a larger investment in legacy projects in education and agriculture that it intends to make over the next five years.
“AngloGold Ashanti has a proud history in South Africa and the company remains committed to supporting communities with deep links to the country’s mining industry,” said its chief executive officer, Alberto Calderon, at an event at Fort Hare to celebrate the endowment.
“This is why we have deliberately targeted the province [the Eastern Cape] from which a significant proportion of our workforce was drawn from for many decades.”
AngloGold Ashanti’s statement adds that Fort Hare’s new chair is designed to sustainably improve yields for the many small-scale dairy farmers in one of South Africa’s poorest provinces.
“This chair will drive research activities that contribute to new knowledge production in dairy science, both nationally and regionally. This research is designed to support rural small-scale farmers in the Eastern Cape and elsewhere in the country over an initial 10-year period,” it said.
