HEALTH SCIENCES Promoting exercise and healthy eating amongst farmers Professor Leon van Niekerk and Professor Daniel Ter Goon he Covid-19 pandemic affected all sectors of society in all countries across the world. As the virus T spread, concerns were raised in the international media about its impact on food security because of disruptions to global supply chains and work in food processing plants. In spite of this concern for food production and distribution at a global level, little attention was paid to the effects of the virus and attempts to control it on the very farming communities that produce the food we eat, especially in developing countries such as South Africa. However, the need to understand the consequences of the pandemic for the physical and mental health of farmers and farm workers did not escape the attention of two eminent University of Fort Hare researchers, Professor Leon van Niekerk of the Department of Human Movement Science and Professor Daniel Ter Goon of the Department of Public Health. Specialist in sport psychology Professor Professor Leon van Niekerk Leon van Niekerk has a long history of research into the impact of physical inactivity on mental health. This interest in the effects of activity is shared by Professor Daniel Ter Goon who, amongst other things, has researched and published on the epidemiology of activity and the relationship between levels of physical activity and chronic disease for many years. Both researchers quickly identified the need to know more about 39 | University of Fort Hare