Zimbabwe scientist wins grain research award

Zimbabwe scientist wins grain research award

NYAMAMBI

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By Christina Scott

A YOUNG Zimbabwean scientist who has been championing the resurrection of a traditional African grain, sorghum, won a R100 000 fellowship at the second annual Women in Science awards in Johannesburg on Friday evening.

Bethule Nyamambi, a sorghum fan will use the pan-African Woman Scientist fellowship to study in South Africa after finishing her animal science doctorate at the University of Zimbabwe. It's a welcome boost after five lonely years of study, when a series of supervisors abandoned her by emigrating, and petrol queues, inflation and food shortages became a fact of life in Harare.

Bethule's study of grain-fed chickens has had beneficial spin-offs for sickly Aids patients. "In the wake of HIV/Aids it has become an increasingly versatile crop to grow and use, not only for feeding chickens but for better nutrition. Sorghum has been a great cheaper alternative for those that have been willing to substitute it for maize."

And the grain comes into its own during droughts, she says. The last two dry spells "made my research all the more important. We made huge strides in helping people plant sorghum and utilise it to feed chickens for their protein sources."

The winner of a R100 000 gender research fellowship is Wits Phd student Nomvuselelo Songelwa, who drove to the posh Sandton awards from a muddy vegetable farm outside Nelspruit.

Transkei-born Songelwa is doing a case study on the impact of land redistribution on women but says city slickers have to be careful about imposing their views on others: "people in rural areas have a negative attitude towards anything that has to do with this buzz word gender relations, they don't like how it has been packaged and presented to them. There is animosity - and some of it comes from women."

There was no animosity when it came time to recognise women working in traditionally "macho" areas of science. Two scientists from the Mother City now have an extra reason to celebrate Women's Day. Scintillating UCT nuclear chemistry doctoral student Freda Morris walked off with R100 000 for her ability to accurately measure radioactivity in just about anything, using rare, large and expensive equipment such as a liquid scintillation counting system.
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