It is with great pleasure that the PPECB announces the appointment of Dr. Nhlanhla Mathaba as its Research and Development (R&D) Manager. Dr. Nhlanhla joined the PPECB as of 1 December 2017 and will be based in the Western Cape.
Dr. Mathaba holds a Doctorate in Horticultural Sciences from the University of KwaZulu-Natal specializing in postharvest research specific to fruit biology, physiology and technology and was a former beneficiary of the Citrus Academy bursary fund. He has published a range of scientific publications to date and is a regular speaker at both local and international research conferences and symposia. Dr. Mathaba is also a former winner of an award for best paper presented by a young Master’s student at the South African Society for Horticultural Science (SASHS) and has been a part-time lecturer at the Universities of Kwazulu-Natal and Limpopo in previous times.
Dr. Mathaba joins the PPECB from the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) where he has served in the capacity of Senior Researcher: Post Harvest Technologies over the last few years. He has successfully lead a number of research projects and collaborated with a number of industry sectors on previous post-harvest research projects. He is also currently supervising two Master’s Degree and two Doctorate students nearing the completion of their studies.