To champion research and development in plant health management (PHM) in South Africa (in particular) and the rest of Africa (in general).
MISSION
To establish a sound diagnostic, research and consultation base in plant health management through coordination of a wide spectrum of expertise and will ultimately serve agricultural, forestry and natural environments.
PLANT HEALTH MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF THE FREE STATE (UFS), SOUTH AFRICA
With the population growth in Sub-Saharan Africa expected to reach 80%
by 2020, together with changes in income, urbanization, lifestyle and
preferences, the future demand for food production in Africa will be
seriously challenged. Future research will need to focus on ways to
improve food security by employing agricultural systems that are
economically sustainable and environmentally sound. A good
understanding of the concept of “holistic plant health management” is
crucial to meeting this challenge and it is therefore imperative that
innovative crop protection and crop production strategies, with
particular emphasis on plant health, be adopted. Any plant health
management programme must be designed for the production of safe,
high-quality products and should use agricultural systems that are
scientifically, philosophically and socially attuned to basic
ecological principles.
The main thrust of the Centre for Plant Health Management (CePHMa) is one of multi-disciplinary research on plants in general and crops in particular. In the CePHMa logo ‘multi-disciplinary’ is depicted by the eight small leaves in shades of green.
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The main thrust of the Centre for Plant Health Management (CePHMa) is one of multi-disciplinary research on plants in general and crops in particular. In the CePHMa logo ‘multi-disciplinary’ is depicted by the eight small leaves in shades of green. 