International honour for
a South African in Irrigation
F
elix Reinders was elected in October
as the new President of the Inter-
national Commission on Irrigation
and Drainage (ICID) for a period of
three years (2017-2020). This a first for the
Agricultural Research Council, for the South
African National Commission on Irrigation
and Drainage (SANCID), for South Africa and
for the Southern African Developing Community
in the 67-year history of ICID.
ICID was established on 24 June 1950 as a
Scientific and Technical International Organi-
sation with their headquarters in New Delhi,
India. The Commission is dedicated to
enhancing the worldwide supply of food and
fibre for all people by improving water and
land management and the productivity of
irrigated and drained lands through appropriate
management of water, environment and
application of irrigation, drainage and flood
management techniques. ICID aims to
achieve sustainable irrigated agriculture
through integrated water resources develop-
ment and management and the network
spreads to 76 countries all over the world
and represents 95% of irrigated agriculture
in the world.
Felix, an engineer, working at the ARC-
Institute for Agricultural Engineering, was
elected as the 24 th President of ICID in Mexi-
co at the 68 th International Executive Council
Meeting that were held in October 2017 at
the World Trade Centre, Mexico City, Mexico.
South Africa became a member of ICID in
1993 and is also celebrating its 24 th anniversary
as a member of ICID. The Agricultural Research
Council, Department of Agriculture Forestry
and Fisheries, Department of Water and
Sanitation together with the Water Research
Council founded SANCID with the South African
Irrigation Institute as an honorary founder
member.
Agri Kultuur/Culture wishes to congratu-
late Felix with this outstanding achieve-
ment! We are proud of you!
Felix is, despite his work load, a loyal
supporter of and keen contributor to our
magazine. We wish him all the best with
the immense task as new President of
ICID (Ed).