Agricultural economist Prof Nick Vink of Stellenbosch University (SU) has been elected by the shareholders of the South African Reserve Bank to serve as a non-executive director.

Prof Vink, chair of the Department of Agricultural Economics in the Faculty of AgriSciences, will serve for a term of three years on the Reserve Bank's Board of Directors.

Another academic with SU ties, Prof Ben Smit, will be serving in this position for a second term. Prof Smit is a former director of the SU's Bureau for Economic Research in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences.

Prof Vink says his role will provide him with the opportunity to create a greater awareness of how decisions made by the Reserve Bank impact the agricultural sector. "I'd also like to bring to the Bank's attention how developments in the agricultural sector influence the economy at large," he adds.

Prof Vink has a wide interest in agricultural development in Africa and is a regular commentator and speaker on matters such as land and agricultural transformation, policy and wine economics.

He was recently elected as the president elect of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE) – the first person from the African continent to serve in this position. He is also a former recipient of the South African Agriculturist of the Year Award.

Prof Vink is an honorary member of the South African and Africa-wide associations of agricultural economics, as well as the American Association of Wine Economists.

Media enquiries:

Prof Nick Vink
Chair: Department of Agricultural Economics
Stellenbosch University
021 808 4899
nv@sun.ac.za