Nandipha Toyota Ndudane is a veterinarian and the director and principal of Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development Institute in the Eastern Cape, which offers a paraveterinary qualification in animal health. She also teaches modules in occupational communication, veterinary epidemiology and research methods.
Nandipha is the president of the South African Veterinary Council, an Africa representative of the World Veterinary Association and the chairperson of the World Organisation for Animal Health Ad Hoc Working Group, which seeks to harmonise community animal health workers’ training programmes and develop global guidelines for competency and curricula.
Smallholder farmers struggle to get access to veterinary care for their animals despite the increased intake of veterinary students at the only veterinary faculty in South Africa. The situation has improved through training people to become paraveterinary professionals. Nandipha is in charge of the community veterinary clinic that provides training for the paraprofessionals and the compulsory community veterinarians while also providing much-needed veterinary care to local farmers.
She is also the chair of the board of the Ntinga OR Tambo Development Agency and is an independent non-executive board member of Cape Wools South Africa. She has been nominated for the World Veterinary Association Veterinary Education Award 2024.
The name of the organisation at which you work
Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (Tsolo Agriculture and Rural Development Institute)http://www.drdar.gov.za
Your educational background, listing your qualifications and institutions, if any
- MSc Animal Pathology, University of Utrecht, Netherlands,
- Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Medical University of South Africa
- BSc in Agriculture (Animal Science and Production), University of Fort Hare
Your greatest achievement
I have successfully advocated for rural youth to gain access to veterinary and paraveterinary education. I have secured funding from the health and welfare Seta, and additional support from the government and agriculture Seta. This initiative has enabled young people to pursue their passion for the veterinary sciences. As a result, these communities now benefit from improved animal health and welfare, enhanced agricultural productivity, and the empowerment of youth through acquiring skills.