A disparity that currently exists between rural and commercial farming practices across racial groups in South Africa can be traced back to “colonialism, the union government and the apartheid government’s [division of] agriculture, while the post apartheid government largely entrenche[s] those divisions”.
This was according to Kuben Naidoo, deputy governor and Monetary Policy Committee member of the South African Reserve Bank, who recently conducted the first annual memorial lecture in honour of the late Prof Mohammad Karaan. The lecture took place on 13 April at Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenbosch and was hosted by Stellenbosch University’s (SU) faculty of agrisciences.
“[Mohammad Karaan] has shown on many occasions to inspire a student through a handshake here and a greeting there. To inspire colleagues through a spoken or written word. Even an institution, if not institutions, through the value system that he [not just] displayed [but] actually lived through,” said Prof Danie Brink, dean of the faculty of agrisciences at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Jean-Marie Uys
Karaan was a professor in agricultural economics at SU and president of the Maties Rugby Club before he passed away on 13 January 2021. He is also a former dean of the faculty of agrisciences and acted as vice-rector in the community interaction and personnel portfolio at SU from 2014 until 2015.
“The overall idea behind [the lecture series] is to take the faculty outside of [its] comfort zone and explain the world around us and where we [as a faculty] fit into that world. There are things we can learn [from] the past – the environment has changed so we can’t just apply what we used to, but we can learn the lessons,” said emeritus Prof Nick Vink from the department of agricultural economics at SU at the occasion.
Kuben Naidoo, deputy governor and Monetary Policy Committee member of the South African Reserve Bank, was the guest speaker at the first annual lecture event in memory of Stellenbosch University’s Prof Mohammad Karaan on 13 April. Naidoo described Karaan as “a person who practically demonstrated that we have the ability to break the dualism in our country, our economy and our agricultural sector”. PHOTO: Jean-Marie Uys
Lessons unlocked through Karaan’s vision
Naidoo discussed the role of finance in transforming South African agriculture with a specific focus on the “stark dualism” the sector faces. He referenced a 2014 study by Vink, Karaan and others to assert that “the agricultural sector is characterised by dualism”, as “black farmers are almost exclusively confined to the former homelands and farm on a small scale without access to physical and institutional infrastructure, extension advice, farm inputs, and so forth”.
“It was Mohammad’s life mission to demonstrate that the agricultural sector can grow output and employment while also tackling the historical dualism of the sector,” said Naidoo. “[Mohammad] provided a unifying vision for agriculture, a vision that he was deeply passionate about.”
“Let’s keep that vision alive each in our own unique way to contribute to making [it] a reality. I think that will do him a great honour and will be a huge benefit for us as a broader society,” said Prof Danie Brink, dean of SU’s faculty of agrisciences, in his closing remarks at the occasion.
The first annual ‘Professor Mohammad Karaan Memorial Address’ was deemed as “[providing] very good guidance to the [agrisciences] faculty to drive content and credibility for these lectures and conversations into the future,” according to Prof Danie Brink, dean of the faculty of agrisciences at Stellenbosch University. PHOTO: Jean-Marie Uys