Stellenbosch University
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Prof Mohammad Karaan - Memorial Address
Start: 13/04/2022, 17:00
End: 13/04/2022, 18:00
Contact:Karin Vergeer - 27 21 808 4792
Location: Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenbosch

Prof Karaan, a former Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, who also served as acting Vice-Rector: Community Interaction and Personnel at SU, passed away on 13 January 2021. At the time of his passing, he was a Professor in Agricultural Economics at SU and President of the Maties Rugby Club.
The guest speaker at the event is Mr Kuben Naidoo, a deputy governor of the South African Reserve Bank and a member of the Monetary Policy Committee. The topic of his address is The role of finance in transforming agriculture.

Prof Karaan’s influence on agriculture and the broader environment

Emeritus Professor Nick Vink from the Department of Agricultural Economics at SU says Prof Karaan had an uncanny ability to place the agricultural sector within the broader environment within which it operates. 
“One could talk to him about land reform, and he would immediately raise the economic inequality in our country and its origins. Talk to him about research and development, and he would place the issue within the broader perspective of the role of technology in economic growth. Tell him that researchers in the Faculty of AgriSciences were doing important work on major issues, and he would want to know what the impact on the food security of poor households was, and so forth.
“The main aim of the annual Mohammad Karaan Memorial Address is, therefore, to ask memorial lecturers to make these links between agriculture and the broader economic, social, political, natural resource and technology environments more explicit, and in so doing to show researchers, students and the broader public alike where their work fits into the bigger picture,” says Vink.
Prof Danie Brink, Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, said the death of Prof Karaan was “a huge loss to the South African agricultural sector at large, and in particular also to our faculty”. 
“He was a special man who had the ability to bring people from different spheres together. His heart was in agriculture, and he believed in strengthening it,” said Brink. 
The faculty will remember Prof Karaan for his empathy towards others, the way in which he recognised and supported colleagues and others, and for his insight and ability to unravel complex issues.

Event details
The memorial address will take place in a hybrid format. Friends, colleagues, business leaders, and representatives from various agricultural businesses as well as Maties Sport and Maties Rugby will attend the lecture at Lanzerac Wine Estate in Stellenbosch.
The lecture will also be live-streamed via MS Teams. 

More about Prof Karaan
Prof Karaan received his qualifications from SU, namely a BScAgric degree in 1990, an MScAgric in 1994 and a PhD (Agric) in 2006.
He started his career as an economist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa, before returning to Stellenbosch as head of research of the then Rural Foundation.
In 1996, he began lecturing in agricultural economics at SU. In 2008, he was appointed Dean of the Faculty of AgriSciences, and in 2013, he was appointed for a second term. In 2014/5, he served as acting Vice-Rector: Community Interaction and Personnel, as this Rectorate portfolio was known then.
Since 2010, Prof Karaan served two terms as a member of agricultural affairs on the National Planning Commission. He was instrumental in writing a chapter in South Africa’s National Development Plan – Vision 2030 on shaping an integrated and inclusive rural economy for South Africa.
Before his passing, he was also a member of the presidential inter-ministerial commission on land reform, and his term as a management committee member of the Bureau for Economic Research was extended. 
During his career, Prof Karaan served as chairperson of, among others, the National Agricultural Marketing Council, the Ministerial Committee on Agricultural Marketing in South Africa, and the Ministerial Committee investigating the South African Wine Industry Trust. He was also an advisor to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Agriculture.
Through the years he was honoured for his leadership role by, among others, Agbiz, Agri SA and Agricultural Writers SA.

More about the guest speaker
Mr Kuben Naidoo is an activist and a public servant in South Africa committed to the achievement of a socially just world. He has a Bachelor of Science Degree and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Management from Wits University and an MBA from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom. He joined the National Treasury at the beginning of 1998. Mr Naidoo headed the Budget Office from 2006 to 2010 and completed a two-year stint at the UK Treasury, working in their Budget Division. He then headed the Secretariat of the National Planning Commission between 2010 and 2013. After serving as an Adviser to the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank for two years, he was appointed in April 2015 to serve as Deputy Governor of the Bank where he was responsible for overseeing the establishment of the prudential authority. Mr Naidoo was appointed as the CEO of the Prudential Authority in April 2018. He is also a member of the Monetary Policy Committee.

Enquires
Please email Ms Karin Vergeer at ccav@sun.ac.za by 12 April 2022 at 17:00​ for any enquiries or if you would like to join the online event.