About Stellenbosch University Faculty of AgriSciences
The Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University (SU) is held in high esteem at national and international levels for the quality of its training and research and also as consultant in the agricultural and forestry industry. Students enrolled in the Faculty’s under- and postgraduate programmes are expertly trained to become leaders and managers in the various sectors of the industry. Throughout the RSA – and abroad – alumni of the Faculty can be found in top positions.
When SU was officially established in 1918, Agriculture was one of the first four faculties and right from the outset it made an indelible contribution to agricultural education and research in South Africa. In 2006 the Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry merged to become the Faculty of AgriSciences as it is today. The Faculty has about 1500 undergraduate and 661 postgraduate students.
The profession of Agricultural Economics was born out of the attempts of early pioneers in the United States to address two fundamental questions, namely (1) “What is the (reciprocal) relationship between the agricultural sector and the rest of the economy?” and (2) “How can farms be managed more efficiently?”
The Department of Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University was the first such Department in South Africa, and was established in 1925, with Prof JFW Grosskopf as first Chair. The first BSc graduates followed in 1926 and the first Masters graduates in 1930. So far, the Department has graduated almost 2000 students with a Bachelor’s degree, and some 400 with a postgraduate degree. Apart from Prof Grosskopf, Department Chairs have included SP van Wyk, Eckart Kassier, Jerry Eckert and Nick Vink.
Agriculture is the biggest source of production and employment in rural areas, and it is the key to a successful economy. Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch University focusses on the management of these processes at farm, provincial, national and international level. It incorporates the study of natural resources, agribusiness, the processing and marketing of agricultural products as well as the analysis of a range of macro-economic factors from politics to institutions to economic policy.