​​Exactly a year after the opening of Stellenbosch University's (SU) HortiDemoCentre​ at Welgevallen Experimental Farm, students and staff were delighted to welcome Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to the facility.

The Dutch royal couple spent three days in South Africa last week on a state visit with their ministerial delegation as well as representatives of 25 universities and academic institutions of the Netherlands. The visit - the second of Dutch monarch since Queen Beatrix visited SA at the invitation of President Nelson Mandela in 1996 - included official talks at the Union Buildings in Pretoria and visits to cultural and historical landmarks in Pretoria, Johannesburg and Cape Town.    

As a collaborative project showcasing Dutch innovation within a South African context, SU's HortiDemoCentre was an important final stop on the royals' visit. A consortium comprising six Dutch companies (Delphy, Koppert, Rijk Zwaan, De Ridder, ControlUnion and Swenson), a South African company (Greener Solutions), and SU received over 900 000 euros (R16 million in 2022) to get this project off the ground.  

Prof Hester Klopper, SU's Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Strategy, Global and Corporate Affairs, Prof Danie Brink, Dean of AgriSciences, and Dr Estelle Kempen, lecturer and project manager of the HortiDemoCentre, welcomed Queen Máxima and her delegation to Welgevallen. Klopper acknowledged SU's strong partnerships with “at least 14" academic institutions in the Netherlands.

The Queen spent an hour speaking to SU students and staff about climate control and pest management. MSc student Jancke van Wyk said the centre afforded students an opportunity to learn more about sustainable and climate smart agronomy. Unlike the Netherlands, where the focus would be on heating technology, the HortiDemoCentre has been designed to perform under South African conditions which has a Mediterranean climate, she explained. The greenhouse is fully automated and wholly climate controlled. Van Wyk also shared with the Queen that plans to install solar panels to remove the Centre's reliance on generators, were “in the works". Adaduma Msana, a PGDip student and technical assistant at the centre, explained to the Queen how the centre re-uses its fertiliser and water and how smart technology is utilised to control the climate inside the greenhouse.

Queen Máxima then donned a protective coat to chat inside greenhouse to students and young farmers about crop health management. Intern Kholosa Nakani, who last year completed a post-graduate diploma in agronomy, explained how the team combines integrated pest management strategies to ensure crop health management. Her Majesty then met with emerging farmers in the area and representatives of the Farmer Production Support Unit (FPSU). This unit serves as an agricultural training and production hub in the area. FPSU head, Joe Barends, handed over a proposal to the Queen outlining the Unit's plans to replicate its model in other districts.

Reflecting on her tour of the site, Queen Máxima said: “It is one thing to hear about these things, but quite another to see it with one's own eyes."

Photo: Stefan Els