Durban - The University of KwaZulu-Natal congratulated their student Wendy Geza for achieving a doctorate in Food Security.
Executive director of UKZN’s Corporate Relations Division, Normah Zondo, said that Geza’s journey to a PhD in Food Security began in UKZN’s Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management (AERRM) programme.
“The daughter of a nurse and a traffic officer who hails from Bizana in the Eastern Cape, Geza attended school in Port Shepstone where the subject of agriculture was compulsory alongside the business studies and accounting that she hoped would take her into a career in law or accounting.
“Applying to UKZN owing to its proximity to home, AERRM was Geza’s third choice, but fate intervened in the form of lost letters of acceptance for her first two choices, leading to her being based at Cedara College of Agriculture for her undergraduate studies.”
Zondo said Geza’s studies stimulated her passion to see young people actively participate in the full spectrum of the agricultural value chain and thrive.
“A high achiever, Geza earned the Kwanalu Floating Trophy for the top AERRM undergraduate student, and a Talent Equity and Excellence Scholarship (TEES) awarded during her Honours year enabled her to achieve her dream of continuing her studies to PhD level in the hopes of pursuing a career in academia.”
Zondo said that graduating with her Honours “summa cum laude”, Geza did Master’s research concerning the impact of the Agribusiness Development Agency on farmer livelihoods, conducted while she was an intern at the agency.
“For her PhD supervised by Dr Mjabuliseni Ngidi and Professor Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi, Geza investigated the development of a framework for youth participation in food systems in South Africa that face significant threats, including climate change. She is the first member of her family to graduate with a PhD, causing great excitement at home.”
Zondo added that Geza’s research contributed to South Africa’s Youth Empowerment Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development and is expected to have a real-life impact in transforming the lives of unemployed youth in South Africa and the region.
“Geza found that young people faced challenges on both the demand and supply side of the labour market when seeking employment, and lacked adequate knowledge and guidance on where to access support and funding.
“She noted a lack of investment in skills development and opportunities throughout the agricultural value chain. She hopes the framework she developed will broaden opportunities and encourage government to increase investment in and funding and awareness of opportunities.”
Zondo said Geza was approached by German private aid organisation Welthungerhilfe to contribute a chapter to the annual Global Hunger Index.
“She co-authored with colleague Ms Mendy Ndlovu. It will be published in October this year. They will be the first African authors under the age of 30 to contribute to this report.”
Geza said she is aiming for a post-doctoral research position in the food policy arena.
“It’s exciting to see how science is able to help someone.”