A Fine Band of Farmers are We!: A History of Agricultural Studies in Pietermaritzburg 1934-2009

By Bill Guest

This history of agricultural studies in KwaZulu-Natal over a period of 75 years, from 1934 to 2009, gives a detailed overview of the establishment of formal agricultural studies in the province and focuses on the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Alumni of "AgFac", as it was affectionately known, have made their mark in agricultural research not only in South Africa but also internationally. Today the School of Agricultural Sciences and Agribusiness, which replaced the old "AgFac", has extended into the sociological and ecological significance of agriculture for the continent as a whole through its African Centre for Food Security (ACFS), and the African Centre for Crop Improvement (ACCI). Much attention is also being paid to the improvement and popularization of traditionally useful food and craft plants indigenous to Africa.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Natal Society Foundation
• Release date: Nov 16, 2010
• ISBN: 9781991225603

Bill Guest

W.R. (Bill) Guest is a professor emeritus and senior research associate in Historical Studies on the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of KwaZulu- Natal. A doctoral graduate of the Howard College (Durban) campus of the former University of Natal, he has published a variety of articles and has authored, co-authored, edited and co-edited more than a dozen books on South African history, focusing primarily on the socio-economic and institutional history of the Natal-Zululand region. In 2013 he won an Amafa AKwazulu-Natali Award in recognition of his contribution towards heritage conservation in the province.

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