Agricultural and food industries all over the world are facing the growing demands of an ever-increasing population. At the same time, natural resources, such as soil and water, and human resources are becoming scarcer and production costs are soaring. Agricultural economists need to find solutions that will enable farmers to farm more effectively and reduce costs to ensure the financial sustainability of farms and companies operating in agriculture.

Agricultural economics can be broadly defined as the study of how limited resources can be utilised to feed an ever-increasing world population. Agricultural economists are therefore concerned with the economic and financial issues related to farming, agricultural food chains and the price of food on the shelf. The sub disciplines of this study field include marketing, financial management, economics, business management, policy formulation and accounting.

To ensure that economic and financial issues in the agricultural milieu make more sense, students also have to register for agricultural sciences subjects, such as soil science, plant production and animal science. This develops business acumen in agricultural economics and graduates’ understanding of the financial and technical aspects of food production and value chains.

For more information, please consult the Faculty webpage.

• Disclaimer: This publication contains information about regulations and programmes of the University of Pretoria. Amendments to or updating of the information may be effected from time to time without prior notification. The accuracy, correctness or validity of the information contained here is therefore not guaranteed by the University at any given time and is always subject to verification. The user is kindly requested to verify the correctness of the information with the University at all times. Failure to do so will not give rise to any claim or action of any nature against the University by any party whatsoever.

Agricultural economists are involved in many different areas of the economy. Their roles in the economy include: analysing and understanding consumer behaviour in terms of people’s wants, needs and willingness to pay for food and clothing; conducting research in environmental economics to assist governments and businesses in ensuring the sustainable use of scarce resources such as water; training of smallholder farmers by providing extension services; trading of financial instruments and agricultural commodities on global and local stock markets; advising clients in the agricultural sector on how to manage their finances and risks; advising government on how to ensure that there will be enough food for all South Africans; and conducting research to ensure the sustainable and profitable supply of food and clothing across the various supply chains. Employment opportunities for agricultural economists include employment in the government, commercial banks, multinational agribusiness companies, former cooperatives, trading houses, food processors and manufacturers, and research councils. An agricultural economist is, therefore someone who is interested in the mathematics, business, science, and human side of agriculture.

• The closing date is an administrative admission guideline for non-selection programmes. Once a non-selection programme is full and has reached the institutional targets, then that programme will be closed for further admissions, irrespective of the closing date. However, if the institutional targets have not been met by the closing date, then that programme will remain open for admissions until the institutional targets are met.
• The following persons will be considered for admission: candidates who are in possession of a certificate that is deemed by the University to be equivalent to the required National Senior Certificate with university endorsement, candidates who are graduates from another tertiary institution or have been granted the status of a graduate of such an institution, and candidates who are graduates of another faculty at the University of Pretoria.
• Life Orientation is excluded from the calculation of the Admission Point Score (APS).
• Grade 11 results are used for the conditional admission of prospective students. Final admission is based on Grade 12 results.
• Please note that the Faculty does not accept GED and School of Tomorrow qualifications for entry into our programmes.

Transferring students

Candidates previously registered at UP or at another university

The faculty’s Admissions Committee considers applications of candidates who have already completed the final NSC or equivalent qualification examination and/or were previously registered at UP or another university, on grounds of their final NSC or equivalent qualification results as well as academic merit.

Candidates previously registered at a FET college or a university of technology

The faculty’s Admissions Committee considers the application of these candidates on the grounds of their final NSC or equivalent qualification results as well as academic merit.

Qualifications from countries other than South Africa

• Citizens from countries other than South Africa and South African citizens with foreign qualifications must comply with all the other admission requirements and the prerequisites for subjects/modules.
• In addition to meeting the admission requirements, admission is based on the performance in the TOEFL, IELTS or SAT, if required.
• Candidates must have completed the National Senior Certificate with admission to degree studies or a certificate of conditional exemption on the basis of a candidate’s foreign qualifications, the so-called “Immigrant” or “Foreign Conditional Exemption”. The only condition for the “Foreign Conditional Exemption” that is accepted is: ‘completion of the degree course’. The exemption certificate is obtainable from Universities South Africa (USAf). Detailed information is available on the website at click here.

University of Pretoria website: click here

*  Cambridge A level candidates who obtained at least a D in the required subjects, will be considered for admission. Students in the Cambridge system must offer both Physics AND Chemistry with performance at the level specified for NSC Physical Sciences in the table above.

*  International Baccalaureate (IB) HL candidates who obtained at least a 4 in the required subjects, will be considered for admission. Students in the IB system must offer both Physics AND Chemistry with performance at the level specified for NSC Physical Sciences in the table above.

Candidates who do not comply with the minimum admission requirements for BScAgric (Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management), may be considered for admission to the BSc – Extended programme – Biological and Agricultural Sciences. This programme takes a year longer than the normal programmes to complete.

The Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences is a diverse faculty with 13 departments that is supported by more than 20 centres and institutes. More than 5 000 students register in this faculty annually of which 70% are undergraduate and 30% postgraduate students.

All degree programmes are designed to develop problem-solving individuals who can easily adapt to changing circumstances and take the lead in their chosen fields of specialisation. The qualifications awarded are of world-class and provide access to a multitude of career opportunities for dynamic and creative people.

In the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, we strive to continuously improve our high impact research and significantly address the national shortage of PhD graduates that respond to global and local challenges.