The youngest PhD graduate at the 2026 University of Mpumalanga (UMP) graduation ceremony, Dr Tapelo Blessing Nkambule, says he will continue doing research and has many more milestones to reach.

The 26-year-old from Badplaas is currently completing his post-doctoral fellowship at Unisa.
Sharing the story of how he ended up graduating as the youngest in his cohort, Nkambule explained that he skipped a grade during primary school.

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“I was promoted from Grade Five to Seven while attending Amanzi Primary. My good academic performance was one of the key reasons I was able to obtain my PhD at the age of 26,” he said.

His doctoral research was titled, “Efficacy of conservation agriculture in enhancing food security among small-scale farmers in Mpumalanga, South Africa.” It focused on the role of conservation agriculture in strengthening food security and improving the resilience of small-scale farming systems.

Some of his findings were presented at the 12th International Conference on Agriculture, held in Bangkok, Thailand.

Nkambule attained all of his qualifications from UMP, including a Bachelor of Agriculture in Agricultural Extension and Rural Resource Management (2017-2019), a Bachelor of Agriculture Honours (2020), a Master of Agriculture in Agricultural Extension (2021), and his Doctor of Philosophy in Agriculture (2023-2025).

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Looking ahead, Nkambule expressed a strong desire to stay in academia. “My dream is to continue doing research on sustainable agriculture and smallholder farming, and to eventually advance to a more senior research position.”