On 20 June 2019 two of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development’s MSc(Agric) students, Dipuo Boshomane and Khanimamba Hlungwani, nervously but excitedly boarded their plane to Hangzhou, China.

Boshomane and Hlungwani attended the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association’s (IFAMA) conference, from 22 to 27 June, with the conference theme “Food Security 2050”, where they both participated in the association’s annual student case study competition.

In addition, Hlungwani presented preliminary results on her MSc(Agric) thesis during the academic symposium at Zhejiang University. We are proud to report that her presentation, titled “Evaluating the effect of regulatory constraints on beef exports on the European Union”, attracted much interest from both the South African and international delegates.

We would like to extend our appreciation to the Bureau for Food and Agricultural Policy for their generous contribution to get these two future leaders to the IFAMA conference.