MBABANE: Dr. Kwanele Andy Nxumalo Ph.D, was on Thursday conferred his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in plant Botany(Major Posthaverst) in class of 2023 at the University of Johannesburg(UJ).
Speaking to this Swaziland News on Friday afternoon, Nxumalo said, he was honoured to be the first graduate under the Posthaverst Agriprocessing Research Centre housed under the Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology.
“My academic journey was not an easy one because of COVID-19 restrictions, I had to write three proposals in a space of six months and by God's grace I pulled through, thus, my academic success is filled with emotions. I am honoured to be the first graduate under the Posthaverst Agroprocessing Research Centre housed under the Department of Botany and Plant Biotechnology at the University of Johannesburg, supervised by Prof. O.A. Fawole and Prof. S.O Oluwafeni.I had to stand on the shoulders of these reputable researchers to succeed," said Dr Kwanele Nxumalo Ph.D.
Nxumalo was awarded the best oral Presenter at the 3rd All Africa Posthaverst Congress and Exhibition held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 2021 and he is also a Lecturer at the University of Eswatini(UNESWA), Luyengo Campus.
Luyengo Lecturer Dr Kwanele Nxumalo, the first PhD graduate from postharvest and Agroprocessing Research Centre (PARC) at the University of Johannesburg.