Effort Extends A&T Expertise to South Africa

July 1996

Greensboro, NC: Recent political changes in South Africa have created a climate of transition in a nation with a history of social injustice. To help ease the difficulty of sweeping social change, a delegate from the North Carolina A&T State University Cooperative Extension Program recently visited the nation to lend his expertise.

Dr. Daniel M. Lyons, assistant administrator of regional and county
field operations with A&T's Cooperative Extension Program, spent ten days this summer consulting with South African officials.

"Changing leadership and the enactment of a new constitution have caused officials to scramble in search of new programs and organizational structures," said Lyons. "The old way of doing things no longer works, and a new system is needed immediately . In essence, change has occurred so rapidly that the present system is having difficulty keeping up."

In addition to Lyons, the University of the North in South Africa has enlisted the help of experts from Michigan State University to assist them with the transition. The University of the North, one of six historically black universities in the country, has a student enrollment of approximately 14,000, and its outreach programs serve nearly 700,000 farm families living in the Northern Province.

While in South Africa, Lyons consulted with officials involved with the nation's outreach programs, on how their organization must change to meet the new demands it faces. Part of the foreseen realignment is providing outreach employees with the training they need to address newly emerging issues.

"Prior to the elimination of apartheid, black people could not own land," said Lyons. "For this reason, many of the young men in rural communities, who might be interested in agriculture, work away from their homes for the duration of the work week. This strains the family unit, and places the burden of maintaining a homelife on the females of the community."

In addition to reducing social inequities, these sweeping political changes have opened the door to many opportunities previously beyond the reach of the minority populations of South Africa. However, to benefit from opportunities, people must know how to capitalize on them, and the training to enhance this knowledge must be in place.

For this reason, Lyons spent much of his time in South Africa helping outreach officials identify their training needs. To understand the needs of the people, Lyons toured the area and visited with local farmers.

"The needs of the people are vast and varying," said Lyons. "After years of suppression, opportunities are emerging, but the resources are not in place to help citizens capitalize on them."

Though Lyons has returned to the A&T campus, his work with the University of the North continues. During the week of July 19, five faculty members from the South African university will visit the A&T campus and meet with faculty members from the School of Agriculture.

"The potential of South Africa is great," said Lyons. "They just need help in reaching it."

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For more information, please contact Dr. Daniel M. Lyons, NC A&T Cooperative Extension Program, (336) 334-7956.