Daan Strydom Research And Technical Award: Dr Stephanie Midgley

When one thinks of climate change and research, one involuntarily thinks of Dr Stephanie Midgley, a specialist researcher from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture and professor extraordinaire at the University of Stellenbosch’s Department of Horticulture.

Over the past 33 years, Stephanie has become a well-known name in the deciduous fruit industry. Especially when talking about climate change and its impact on Agriculture and natural resources. Climate change is one of the biggest concerns for the South African deciduous fruit industry. Extraordinary weather phenomena, droughts, and warmer weather are just some of the aspects that can hurt production practices.

Stephanie’s career began in 1991 as a fruit technician at Unifruco’s office in London. After this, she fulfilled various roles, among others at the South African Institute for Biodiversity, the SU, the University of Cape Town, and as an independent consultant. Apart from her work on climate change, Stephanie has also researched improving agricultural production techniques, product quality and the effective use of water in the production process. Stephanie’s research plays a leading role nationally and internationally. Her research helps the
South African deciduous fruit industry to better understand climate change and thereby tackle future climate challenges with resilience and adaptability.