On 5 and 6 June Prof. Andre Drenth from the University of Queensland, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation visited FABI. Prof. Drenth is a well-known friend and collaborator of the institute. Over the years he has collaborated on many research projects, most notably those dealing with Phythopthora diseases and fungal population studies. He has also presented his research at a number of TPCP meetings and was guest speaker at a FABI year-end function.  

The aim of this week’s visit was to spent time with Dr Gerda Fourie in order to discuss future collaboration with the Macadamia Protection Programme that was launched earlier this year. Prof. Drenth also has discussions with Noelani van den Berg, leader of the Avocado Research Programme and her students to discuss avocado research in South Africa. Finally various post-graduate students had the opportunity to spend time with him during a round table discussion. During this discussion Prof. Drenth spoke about the importance of conducting relevant science and he also shared his thoughts on the importance of sharing the impact of your research to industry and the general public.