Dr Nomali Z. Ngobese is an associate professor in the unit for environmental sciences and management at North-West University (NWU), Potchefstroom campus. She is a plant physiologist and holds a PhD in Bioresource Systems. She specialises in agronomy, focusing on the production of food crops and underutilised plants.
Her research is on optimising the cultivation of popular crops, like potatoes, in the face of climate change, and emphasises the potential of underutilised crops in building resilient food systems to enhance food and nutrition security. ​
Ngobese says: “Now, more than ever, we need to be promoting crop diversity and underutilised plants. It’s important to both for science and for socio-economic outcomes.
“Plants that thrive in local agroecological conditions require fewer inputs and they often hold deep cultural significance. By investing in them, we build resilient food systems that rural women can access, own, and shape. I see this as a critical path to nutritional, environmental, and economic sovereignty for communities historically excluded from mainstream agricultural value chains.”
Ngobese’s under-reported topic is:
I believe the media needs to pay more attention to how climate-resilient indigenous crops can be scaled through public procurement, school feeding schemes, and local food markets. The intersection of agricultural sovereignty, women’s leadership, and ecological justice is still too often overlooked in mainstream reporting.
