SA's plan to grow domestic research involves wine and tea
The country's minister of science and technology is looking for smart ways to encourage scientific research, she says, and agriculture is one sector showing promise.
The wine industry, Erickson says, is working with the government to fund scientific research about consumers' tastes and preferences, in order to help growers and winemakers improve their products. Researchers are using advanced analytical methods to identify the roughly 1,000 compounds that give wines their flavour and smell.
The South African government is also investing in scientific research to foster production of the honeybush plant - source of a tea so fragrant that a potful can perfume an entire house - to create jobs and boost the economy. Local scientists are also working to extract valuable antioxidant, anti-diabetes and antimicrobial compounds from the plant, Eurekalert.org website reports.
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