South Africa’s Agricultural Business Chamber (Agbiz) has honoured Professor Mohammad Karaan of Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of AgriSciences for his exceptional service to the South African agribusiness sector.
He received the Agbiz Honorary Award at the business chamber’s biannual congress held in Somerset West last week.
Professor Karaan’s leadership role in the South African agricultural sector was also acknowledged through an honorary award from Agri SA in November 2015.
He was recently reappointed to serve a second five-year term as a member of the National Planning Commission (NPC). During his first term, from 2010 to 2015, he was instrumental in writing the chapter in the National Development Plan – Vision 2030 on how to shape an integrated and inclusive rural economy.
“This acclaimed framework has received wide support as a blueprint for South Africa’s agricultural future,” says Agbiz, a voluntary association of agribusinesses operating in southern Africa.
Professor Karaan did his PhD (Agric) at SU in 2006. He started his career as an economist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), before returning to Stellenbosch to join the Rural Foundation as its Head of Research.
He became dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences at Stellenbosch University in 2008, and was reappointed in 2013 for a second term. During 2014/5, he was an acting vice-rector at the institution.