The number of postgraduate students and interns working in the different projects at the FABI Biocontrol Nursery and Insect Rearing facility has grown exponentially over the last five years. This because of the increase in the number of projects utilizing the facility, including projects in the Tree Protection Co-operative Programme (TPCP), Grain Research Programme (GRP), Macadamia Protection Programme (MPP), Eucalypt and Pine Pathogen Interaction (EPPI) group and the DSI-NRF Centre of Excellence in Plant Health Biotechnology (CPHB).

A need for a dedicated office space for the students and interns has been on the wish list for some time and was made a reality between November 2021 - February 2022. The space that was once one of the facility’s storerooms was converted into office space to be used by students and interns working at the facility. This space has brought much-needed relief for students and interns working at the facility. The office space offers a quiet and clean environment with eight desks which students and interns can use for desk work while in-between experiments, and 12 lockers to store personal belongings. The new office space has been very well received by the students and has made a positive contribution to the working environment at the facility.