AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Casidra (Cape Agency for Sustainable Integrated Development in Rural Areas) has welcomed a new CEO, Dr Keith du Plessis, effective 1 June.
Du Plessis’ experience spans more than 19 years in the agriculture value-chain in various capacities ranging from research and development (R&D) to investment and trade promotion.
He spent more than nine years in the agricultural R&D space at the Agricultural Research Council (ARC) in Stellenbosch and more than ten years as head of the agro-processing sector at the Coega Development Corporation (CDC) in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape.
His career started in 2002 as a researcher in the soil and water science division at ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij, where he focused on soil health and biological wastewater treatment systems. His research findings have been published in scientific, semi-scientific and popular journals and have also been presented at local and international scientific conferences.
In 2009, Du Plessis joined the ARC Infruitec-Nietvoorbij management team as acting programme manager for the institute’s post-harvest and wine technology division.
In 2012, he joined the business development unit at CDC as sector lead for the attraction of agro-processing and aquaculture investments into the Coega Special Economic Zone (SEZ) where his core focus was to attract foreign and domestic direct investment in the agro-processing sector into the Coega SEZ and the larger Eastern Cape.
His portfolio included food and high-value crop processing, biofibres and aquaculture. Du Plessis also developed several projects that required the integration of the supply of raw materials to the production facilities situated in the Coega SEZ.
He led the team developing and implementing the strategy for the multi-billion Rand Coega Aquaculture Development Zone in the Coega SEZ.
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