Food security, climate change and sustainability. These are some of the issues that will take centre stage from 19 to 20 March when the North-West University (NWU) and Agricultural Research Council (ARC) will be co-hosting the 2025 National Grain Research Programme (NGRP) Annual Meeting, themed Farming 2.0: Smarter & Greener.

This event will bring together industry leaders, researchers, policy makers and students from across South Africa to discuss innovative approaches to farming and grain production.

Two North-West University (NWU) students, Makatu Mashanyu and Fhatani Munwana, have been nominated for the national ACCESS Habitable Planet Workshop (HPW) annual awards. These nominations recognise their contributions to science education and environmental initiatives.

The awards, hosted by ACCESS – the Alliance for Collaboration on Climate and Earth Systems Science – honour individuals who have made significant contributions to the Habitable Planet Programme.

The North-West University (NWU) continues to shine in international rankings. The latest Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject place four of the NWU’s subject groups in the top 850 globally, with one of these featuring in the 301 to 350 ranking category. The subject groups are agriculture, environmental sciences, physics and medicine. QS published these rankings on 12 March 2025.

A new weapon in the battle against malaria is emerging, and this time not from a laboratory, but rather driven by machine learning.

Researchers at the North-West University (NWU) have leveraged artificial intelligence (AI) to accelerate the search for life-saving drugs, a breakthrough that could shift the tide against this deadly disease.

By Gofaone Motsamai and Oscar Mosiane

The North-West University (NWU), in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), has established an agri-hub to advance agricultural development in North West.

This initiative represents a substantial progression in addressing critical issues such as food security, economic growth and agricultural sustainability in the province. The hub was launched at the university's Molelwane Farm on Monday, 3 March 2025.

By Gofaone Motsamai and Oscar Mosiane

In a significant step towards advancing agricultural research and community development, Eden Roots – a bee farming enterprise based in Tloung Village, Mahikeng – donated a honey extractor to the North-West University’s (NWU’s) Crop Science subject group on 28 February 2025.

The honey extractor will be stationed at the NWU’s Molelwane Farm.

Instead of further depleting overharvested indigenous plants for medicinal purposes, it might be possible to use the bacteria inside their roots. This would preserve at-risk plants while still allowing access to the medicinal properties associated with them.

Torrential rains have left parts of the North West Province struggling with school closures, damaged infrastructure and impassable roads. Learners in several areas were unable to attend school due to flooded classrooms and collapsed buildings, while scholar transport was affected by washed-out roads.

North-West University (NWU) Head of the African Centre for Disaster Studies, Professor Dewald Van Niekerk, says the rainfall is linked to weather systems that developed over the past month.

By Gofaone Motsamai

In the dry, sandy soils of southern Africa, a rugged survivor stands tall: Vachellia erioloba, more commonly known as the camel thorn. Once classified under the genus Acacia as Acacia erioloba, this hardy tree is also called the giraffe thorn, mokala tree, or kameeldoring in Afrikaans.

There is much for Lihle Sindaku, a North-West University (NWU) MSc Agriculture student, to crow about after her selection to an international poultry programme that bridges academic study and industry insights.

Understanding the complexities of poultry production requires both research and industry exposure, which the 2025 World’s Poultry Science Association (WPSA) Youth Programme provides. Taking place in Pretoria from 2 to 7 March 2025, the programme runs alongside the 41st Scientific Symposium of the South African Branch of WPSA.