Local Organising Committee

Dailena Pienaar holds a BSc Agric degree and is co- founder and Managing Director of NviroTek Laboratories (PTY) LTD), a prominent South African analytical laboratory group, specializing in a wide range of test for the Agri- and Food compliance sectors. NviroTek operates from six locations, with a staff complement of 148. She has been instrumental in setting up successful independent Agri- laboratories since 1996, with a view to enable industry decision- making, by providing trustworthy laboratory data.   Dailena served on the council of AgriLASA (Agri- Laboratory Association of Southern Africa) for several terms either as President or Chair of the executive committee. Dailena has represented AgriLASA on the International Governing Committee and is the chair of the Local Organising Committee for ISSPA 2027.

Vossie Wilsnach is the Head of Operations for Agri Labs at NviroTek Laboratories.

Vossie holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and has been active in the South African fertilizer and agricultural laboratory sector since 2000. As Head of Enablement and Operations: Agri Laboratories at NviroTek, Vossie Wilsnach oversees agricultural laboratory operations, laboratory enablement, and the implementation of laboratory systems for the analysis of soil, plant, water, fertilizer, and related agricultural samples.

He served on the Agri Laboratory Association of South Africa (AgriLASA) Council since 1998 and was privileged to lead the Association as President for several terms since 2008.

Vossie was also a member of the IFA’s Method Harmonising Committee, where international fertilizer chemists liaise to harmonise analytical methodology to globally raise the level of fertilizer analyses. Vossie is the Co- chair of the LOC for ISSPA 2027

Dr Elrisa Taljaard hold a PhD in Chemistry. She commenced her career in agricultural laboratory analyses and gained experience in water, plant, growth media, soil, fertiliser and feed analyses before moving on to veterinary medicine and pesticide residues for meat, poultry, honey and milk exports. As from 2014, focusing on feed analyses, Dr Taljaard is currently managing Labworld. Labworld focus on feed analyses and digestibility assays – both in vitro and chemical simulations. She also heads a small research and development team into premixes and inorganic material analyses. The laboratory also builds NIR calibration models for raw materials, finished feeds and biofuels.

Elrisa has served on the AgriLASA Council for several terms, currently as Chair of the executive committee after a presidency term.