UFS Agricultural Economics / UV Landbou-Ekonomie

We are proud to see Prof. Yonas. T. Bahta representing the Department of Agricultural Economics at the Free State Legislature's Research Dialogue on Agricultural Development, Climate Resilience, Disaster Preparedness and Legislature Oversight in the Free State.

During the dialogue, Prof. Bahta presented on the vital contribution of agriculture to economic growth, employment creation, household welfare and food security in the Free State Provice. His presentation highlighted the importance of evidence-based policy, continued investment and innovation to strengthen the agricultural sector and support sustainable rural development.

The event brought together legislators, researchers and key stakeholders to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing agriculture in the Free State, with a strong emphasis on climate resilience, disaster preparedness and informed legislative oversight.

As a department, we are committed to producing research that extends beyond academia and contributes to policy development, sustainable agriculture and improved livelihoods. We are proud of Prof. Bahta's contribution to this important dialogue and his continued engagement with policymakers and industry stakeholders.

Congratulations, Prof. Bahta, on representing our department with distinction.

OVK is once again offering graduate opportunities for 2027 to individuals looking to build a career in the agricultural industry.

Applications close on 7 August 2026.

See the advertisements below for more information and feel free to share this opportunity with others.

The Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State is proud to congratulate our students who recently participated in the prestigious Agbiz Student Case Competition, held as part of the Agbiz Congress.

The competition challenged students to develop practical solutions for South Africa's wheat value chain and present their recommendations to a panel of industry leaders and experts.
Our students, Onalenna Hlengiwe Ndelu, Nicola Koegelenberg, and Zoe Sihlobo, represented the department with distinction while working in multidisciplinary teams alongside students from other institutions.

Onalenna Hlengiwe Ndelu was part of the team that secured first place in the competition. In addition, she received special recognition as an Outstanding Presenter, highlighting her exceptional communication and presentation skills.

Nicola Koegelenberg was part of the team that achieved second place, demonstrating excellent analytical and problem-solving abilities in addressing real-world agricultural challenges.
We also congratulate Zoe Sihlobo for her participation and contribution to the competition, showcasing the talent and potential of our Agricultural Economics students.

Competitions such as these provide valuable opportunities for students to apply classroom knowledge to practical industry challenges while engaging with leading stakeholders in the agricultural sector.

We are incredibly proud of our students and their achievements. Their success reflects the quality, dedication, and excellence that define Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State.

Employment Opportunities in the Agricultural and Mechanisation Sector

The Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State would like to share several employment opportunities currently available within the grain, mechanisation, and agricultural equipment industries.

The available positions include:
• Assistant Silo Manager
• Assistent Silo Bestuurder
• Silo Manager
• Operational Manager: Grain
• Agricultural Equipment Marketing Manager
• After Sales Manager: Mechanisation
• Workshop Manager
• Agricultural Equipment Marketer – Clocolan
• Tractor Mechanic – Clocolan

Interested candidates can contact:
Hardus Nel
[email protected]
060 791 4112
Please refer to the attached job posts for further information on each position.

From 22 to 27 February 2026, several of our academic staff attended the 25th International Farm Management Association Congress (IFMA25), held in Rosario, Argentina. IFMA is a globally recognized platform for research, innovation, and best practices in farm management, agribusiness, and rural development.

We are proud to report that our Department of Agricultural Economics strongly represented the University of the Free State, with multiple colleagues presenting their research:

Dr Brent Jammer – Rethinking Calf Weaning Management: Insights from Early versus Conventional Practices on a South African Beef Cattle Farm

Dr Janus Henning – Farmers Competencies: Comparing Self Perception and Peer Evaluation

Miss Zimbini Coka – Managing Agricultural Disease Shocks: Lessons for Food Security from South Africa and India and Bridging the Gap: Crowdfarming as a Catalyst for Youth Engagement in South African Agriculture

Zimbini was also part of the Next Gen Programme, an exclusive initiative for emerging leaders in farm management. She collaborated on an in-depth case study, participated in on-farm visits, and presented recommendations to the Congress plenary, showcasing her insights on the future of agriculture.

Dr Petso Mokhatla – Nexus Between Food Systems Transformation and Small Medium and Micro Enterprises Development in South Africa’s Agro Processing Sector

Dr Lindie von Maltitz – The Influence of Gender on Smallholder Livestock Farmers Resilience to Agricultural Drought in South Africa

Dr Walter van Niekerk – Farm Households Facing Agricultural Drought: Who Is More Resilient, Commercial or Smallholder Livestock Farmers?

Dr WA Lombard – Livestock Producers Visual Attention to Oxytetracycline Antibiotics in South Africa: An Eye Tracking Approach

Dr Markus Monteiro – Adoption Intentions for Water Saving Technologies Among Lucerne Irrigators in South Africa: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

We are also proud that Prof Henry Jordaan chaired one of the presentation sessions

Our participation highlighted the global impact and expertise of UFS Agricultural Economics, as well as the leadership potential of our emerging scholars.

South Africa is currently grappling with the Foot-and-Mouth Disease outbreak. Please join tonight’s important session on practical biosecurity guidance, facilitated by our own Dr Lindie von Maltitz.

𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁-𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝗠𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘀: 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗶𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲

The continuing foot-and-mouth disease outbreak has intensified into a national crisis. As farmers await the availability of vaccines, it is crucial that proactive measures are taken to safeguard livestock. This outbreak is not only affecting farmers, but also agribusinesses and the broader agricultural sector.

To support the industry during this challenging time, two experts have been invited to share insights on the virus, along with practical, farm-level guidance on essential biosecurity practices – including what to do and what to avoid.

Date: Thursday 29 January 2026
Time: 19:00
Venue: https://ufsweb.co/leafinar

Presented by the LEAF Initiative
Land, Enterprise, and Agricultural Futures (LEAF)

Facilitated by:
Dr Lindie von Maltitz
Department of Agricultural Economics
Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences

By Dr Jack Armour (a M.Sc.Agric. and PhD student and lecturer under Prof Viljoen)

As the Agricultural Economic fraternity, our heartfelt appreciation for the life of Prof Giel, as he was affectionally known, for the care, meaning, and moral guidance modelled in his work and instilled in his students.

We extend our sincere condolences to his family.

Prof Giel’s focus and passion, and mark he certainly left, was on water economics; from flood to droughts, salinization & drainage, eutrophication, floodplains, wetlands, irrigation and economic development, Prof Viljoen led students to integtate these, often new fields for the students, with academic rigor and discipline and affiliation for the social and moral implications of their work.
Prof. Viljoen co-authored many papers on regional socioeconomics in his earlier years. With his deep understanding of the economic impacts on the moral and ethical dimensions of affected farmers and communities, his work looked holistically at the problem, integrating science, economics, and sociology in a multidisciplinary approach.

Prof Giel, was employed at the University of the Free State since 1972, starting at the Institute for Social and Economic Research. He was a professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State (UFS) from 1985 until his retirement in 2010. During this period, he served as Head of the Department from 1986 to 1997. Under his leadership, the Department of Agricultural Economics experienced strong growth. Personnel numbers tripled through the appointment of contract personnel. With the main focus on research, the department matured as the department with the highest research output in the faculty.
A significant part of his work involved developing computer models to address practical issues in water management. This included models to assess damage caused by floods in urban and irrigation areas for flood control planning, to quantify the socio-economic impact of water restrictions on different sectors of the economy, etc.

Prof Giel was and remains a prominent South African agricultural economist and academic, renowned for his expertise in resource and environmental economics, particularly focusing on water economics and utilisation. His academic legacy includes over 12 PhD dissertations and 25 Master's theses that he supervised, as well as over 100 publications to his credit. Furthermore, the many students Prof lectured and chaperoned on exchange programmes to Michigan State University, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech (VPI), and Minnesota State University will remember him fondly. I personally was on a Master's exchange to VPI, where Prof. Viljoen was a father figure to the students away from home— his door was always open to discuss issues and problems. Reading the dedications/acknowledgements in his students’ theses is a testament to this, with Ethiopian, Ghanian, Eritrean and other students being particularly touched by how Prof Giel and Tannie Cora made them feel welcome in South Africa, inviting them to their home for meals and compassionately assisting when a crisis occurred.
I was immensely privileged to attend the World Water Congress in Melbourne in 2000 with Prof Giel, preceded by a tour of the Murray-Darling Basin led by Prof Norman Dudley, a pioneer of water market modelling. During this memorable week-long trip with Prof Giel driving from Sydney to Melbourne, I got to know Prof Giel very well and experienced his calm demeanour under stress and firm yet always fair management style.

Some of the highlights of Prof Giel’s career:
• Representing South Africa on the Flood Management Working Group of the International Commission on Irrigation and Drainage from 1998.
• Presenting the F.R. Tomlinson Commemorative Lecture in 2002, the same year he received honorary membership from the Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA).
• Being elected President of AEASA in 2003.
• Co-submitting, with Prof. Jan Groenewald, the proposal in 2001/2002 to establish the AEASA Bursary Trust Fund in honour of Prof. Bax Nomvete’s contribution to South African and African agricultural economics and policy.
• Co-publishing, as early as 2008, the paper Global warming and climate change with reference to South Africa. Some perspectives on the now highly topical issues of global warming and climate change.
• Being recognised in Prof. Johan Kirsten’s 2010 F.R. Tomlinson Commemorative Lecture, as one of the South African researchers with the highest international recognition based on ISI citations and h-index—alongside Rashid Hassan, Michael Aliber, and Johann Kirsten.

After retiring, Prof Viljoen devoted himself to his family and grandchildren.

The passing of his wife, Tannie Cora, placed a huge burden on his emotional well-being. In the last few years, I’d received feedback from his good friend, Hans Janse van Rensburg, and Louise Hoffman, who had been his secretary for many years, that he was doing okay. I will be forever grateful for the potential Prof. Giel saw in me when he “recalled” me from being a tour guide in Southern Africa to come do my Master's on a WRC project he had for me. Prof. Giel left a lasting mark on all he lectured, mentored, and led, and will be remembered fondly in the Agricultural Economics fraternity and at the University of the Free State.

Dr Brent Jammer, who recently completed his PhD in Agricultural Management at the University of the Free State, was featured on Plaas TV to discuss his doctoral research on early weaning as a farming practice. Drawing from his own experience as a small-scale farmer, Dr Jammer collaborated with renowned Bonsmara breeder Arthur de Villiers of AG Bonsmaras to explore the practical application of early weaning.

We celebrate Dr Jammer’s success as we continue to pursue research in our department that is high-impact and industry-relevant.

Well done Brent, we are proud of you!

Here is the link to the full interview:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OtdT2Uno8A&t=3s

Celebrating a Remarkable Year for Dr Pascalina Pilane!

2025 has been an extraordinary year for Dr Pascalina Pilane, and we are thrilled to share some of her remarkable accomplishments:

Championing Women in Agriculture
To celebrate Women’s Month, Dr Pilane was invited by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to serve as an adjudicator for the Women Entrepreneur Award 2025 2026. She visited 29 female-led farms across the Free State Province, including subsistence, small-scale, processing, and commercial operations, recognizing and supporting women farmers who are making a difference in their communities.

Sharing Research on a Global Stage
Dr Pilane presented her latest research paper to peers and delegates at the National Sustainability Society’s 2nd Annual NSS Conference held from October 20 to 22, 2025 at the University of Notre Dame South Bend Indiana, USA

Global Professional Development
She successfully completed the Seminar on Digital Trade and Cross-Border E-Commerce Development for Chambers of Commerce and Industry of BRI Partner Countries in Beijing China, further enhancing her expertise in digital trade and international commerce.

A Milestone Achievement
Adding to these accomplishments, Dr Pilane is set to graduate with her PhD this December, marking a truly exceptional year of academic and professional success!

We congratulate Dr Pilane on her inspiring dedication, achievements and her continued contribution to agriculture research and the empowerment of women in the sector

We are honoured to share that Prof Yonas T. Bahta has been recognized as one of the world’s top 2% of scientists consecutively in 2024 and 2025, according to the global ranking by Stanford University and Elsevier. This recognition is based on standardized citation metrics that consider standardized citation metrics and authorship, ensuring that the ranking reflects research impact and influence.