Zululander determined to impact agriculture

‘The population of Sub-Saharan Africa will double in the next thirty years.

‘We will have to feed more people with less water and it’s not like we can make more land available to grow food on,

‘In fact, desertification will probably remove some marginal lands from the agricultural sector,’ says 28-year-old PhD graduate Nick Grantham.

‘The world is changing faster than it has ever before and if we stick with old fashioned mindsets we’re not going to be able to anticipate and meet the challenges.

‘Given how important food and food security is, especially in Africa, not being ready for the changes will have devastating consequences.’

For some, obtaining a PhD takes close to a lifetime, but for Nick it is something he considers a necessity in his field of expertise.

A former Felixton College learner, Nick obtained a BSc degree in genetics and biochemistry, an Honours and

Masters degree in molecular and cell biology at the University of Cape Town and a PhD in biochemistry at the University of Cambridge.

His return to Zululand means that he is now the fifth generation of his family to farm at Iniwe as he assumes the position of data analyst and statistician at Illovo Sugar.

‘I love this place, it’s my home and not something I’d be willing to let go of.

‘My family has been here for years and I feel a connection to the place.

‘I want to work with sugarcane and genetically modify the crop to suit our needs.

‘There’s not a great deal of sugarcane in Europe, and they’re not that big into GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) technology anyway.

‘This technology has the ability to let us grow more crops on less land, to reduce our water and carbon footprint and ease our use of pesticides and herbicides.

‘Africa stands to benefit the most from this, and SA in particular.

‘Our economy might not be driven by agriculture anymore, but food security certainly is, and GMOs produce better quality food at a cheaper cost.

For someone who is clearly driven, Nick said he has big plans for the future.

‘I’m planning to open a laboratory that will do its own crop selection through conventional breeding and GMOs.

‘It’s still in its infancy, so we’re compiling the work streams and will be looking for scientists to join us in the next year or so,’ he told the ZO.

An avid wildlife enthusiast and spear fisherman, it comes as no surprise that his role model would be that of Juan Jose Padilla.

‘He’s a bullfighter who had half of his face torn apart by a bull.

‘Whether you disagree with what he does or not, it’s a remarkable show of courage to come back from that.

‘He recovered and re-entered the arena to fight again.

‘Can you imagine the resolve needed to face a raging bull, having already been gored before and without a second eye for depth perception?’

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