| Code | Faculty | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 07130092 | Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences | Department: Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 3 years | Total credits: 374 | NQF level: 07 |
The purpose of this degree programme is to train students in the field of Economics and Business management as applied to the agricultural and agribusiness sector. The degree prepares students for management careers in agricultural sales and marketing, brokerage, market research, international market development, finance, public relations, food manufacturing and distribution, and agricultural-input industry.
Students who achieved 70% and above in English Home Language (an A or a B), and 80% and above in English First Additional Language (only an A) in the NSC (or equivalent) will be exempted from ALL 124 and therefore do not have to register and pass this module to complete their degrees. Students who achieved 69% and below in English Home Language (a C and below), and 79% and below in English First Additional Language (a B and below) have to register for ALL 124 and pass this module in order to be awarded their degrees.
Transferring students
Candidates previously registered for the BCom — Extended programme
The Admissions Committee of the faculty considers applications of candidates who were previously registered for the BCom — Extended programme according to specific guidelines as stipulated in the Transfer Guide of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences as published on the EMS Faculty website.
Candidates previously registered at UP or at another university
The Admissions Committee of the faculty considers applications of candidates who have already completed the final NSC or equivalent qualification and/or were previously registered at UP or at another university according to specific guidelines as stipulated in the Transfer Guide of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences as published on the EMS Faculty website. A complete academic record, as well as the final school leaving results, are required for such applications.
NB: Candidates who are still registered at another university must submit an academic record of their studies to the faculty as soon as possible after their final examinations. The closing date for these applications is 30 September.
Qualifications from countries other than South Africa
University of Pretoria website: click here
Minimum requirements | ||||
Achievement level | ||||
English Home Language or English First Additional Language | Mathematics | APS | ||
NSC/IEB | AS Level | NSC/IEB | AS Level | |
5 | C | 5 | C | 30 |
* Cambridge A level candidates who obtained at least a D and International Baccalaureate (IB) HL candidates who obtained at least a 4 in the required subjects, will be considered for admission.
Note: Accountancy is not a subject requirement for any of the BCom or BAdmin programmes.
Note: See the alphabetical list of modules for the prerequisites for all modules.
# FRK 122 is a terminating module. Candidates will not be able to continue with Financial accounting in the second or third year.
Specialisation modules: LEK 310, 320, 410.
"Major subject"
To be considered a "major subject" the equivalent of four 14-week modules, including two at 300-level, must be passed provided that:
It is thus the responsibility of students to ensure before registration, that their curricula comply with all the requirements of the applicable regulations.
According to General Regulation G.3 students have to comply with certain requirements as set by the Faculty Board.
Minimum requirements for bachelor's degrees; semester and year modules; new regulations
Minimum credits: 120
Students who did not obtain at least a symbol 5 (60-69%) in Mathematics in the final NSC (or equivalent) must first pass Statistics 113 and 123. STK 110 will be credited but students still need to pass STK 120 or equivalent.
Module content:
Find, evaluate, process, manage and present information resources for academic purposes using appropriate technology.
Module content:
Apply effective search strategies in different technological environments. Demonstrate the ethical and fair use of information resources. Integrate 21st-century communications into the management of academic information.
Module content:
This module is intended to equip students with the competence in reading and writing required in the four high impact modules: Business Management, Financial Accounting, Statistics and Economics. Students will also be equipped to interpret and draw figures and graphs and to do computations and manage relevant formulas. Students attend two lectures per week during semester two.
This module is offered by the Faculty of Humanities.
Module content:
This module provides an overview of the fundamentals of marketing by considering the exchange process, customer value, marketing research and the development of a marketing plan. It also addresses the marketing mix elements with specific focus on the seven service marketing elements namely the service product, physical evidence, people, process, distribution, pricing and integrated marketing communication.
Module content:
This module deals with the core principles of economics. A distinction between macroeconomics and microeconomics is made. A discussion of the market system and circular flow of goods, services and money is followed by a section dealing with microeconomic principles, including demand and supply analysis, consumer behaviour and utility maximisation, production and the costs thereof, and the different market models and firm behaviour. Labour market institutions and issues, wage determination, as well as income inequality and poverty are also addressed. A section of money, banking, interest rates and monetary policy concludes the course.
Module content:
This module deals with the core principles of economics, especially macroeconomic measurement the private and public sectors of the South African economy receive attention, while basic macroeconomic relationships and the measurement of domestic output and national income are discussed. Aggregate demand and supply analysis stands core to this course which is also used to introduce students to the analysis of economic growth, unemployment and inflation. The microeconomics of government is addressed in a separate section, followed by a section on international economics, focusing on international trade, exchange rates and the balance of payments. The economics of developing countries and South Africa in the global economy conclude the course.
Module content:
The nature and function of accounting; the development of accounting; financial position; financial result; the recording process; processing of accounting data; treatment of VAT; elementary income statement and balance sheet; flow of documents; accounting systems; introduction to internal control and internal control measures; bank reconciliations; control accounts; adjustments; financial statements of a sole proprietorship; the accounting framework.
Module content:
Budgeting, payroll accounting, taxation – income tax and an introduction to other types of taxes, credit and the new Credit Act, insurance, accounting for inventories (focus on inventory and the accounting entries, not calculations), interpretation of financial statements.
Module content:
*Module content will be adapted in accordance with the appropriate degree programme. Only one of KOB 181 - 184 may be taken as a module where necessary for a programme.
Applied business communication skills.
Acquiring basic business communication skills will enhance the capabilities of employees, managers and leaders in the business environment. An overview of applied skills on the intrapersonal, dyadic, interpersonal, group (team), organisational, public and mass communication contexts is provided. The practical part of the module (for example, the writing of business reports and presentation skills) concentrates on the performance dimensions of these skills as applied to particular professions.
Module content:
The entrepreneurial mind-set; managers and managing; values, attitudes, emotions, and culture: the manager as a person; ethics and social responsibility; decision making; leadership and responsible leadership; effective groups and teams; managing organizational structure and culture inclusive of the different functions of a generic organisation and how they interact (marketing; finance; operations; human resources and general management); contextualising Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in each of the topics.
Module content:
Value chain management: functional strategies for competitive advantage; human resource management; managing diverse employees in a multicultural environment; motivation and performance; using advanced information technology to increase performance; production and operations management; financial management; corporate entrepreneurship.
Module content:
Descriptive statistics:
Sampling and the collection of data; frequency distributions and graphical representations. Descriptive measures of location and dispersion.
Probability and inference:
Introductory probability theory and theoretical distributions. Sampling distributions. Estimation theory and hypothesis testing of sampling averages and proportions (one and two-sample cases). Supporting mathematical concepts. Statistical concepts are demonstrated and interpreted through practical coding and simulation within a data science framework.
Module content:
Students can only get credit for one of the following two modules: STK 120 or STK 121.
Analysis of variance, categorical data analysis, distribution-free methods, curve fitting, regression and correlation, the analysis of time series and indices. Statistical and economic applications of quantitative techniques: Systems of linear equations: solving and application. Optimisation, linear functions, non-linear functions. Marginal and total functions. Stochastic and deterministic variables in statistical and economic context: producers' and consumers' surplus. Supporting mathematical concepts. Statistical concepts are illustrated using simulation within a data science framework.
This module is also presented as STK 121, an anti-semester module. This is a terminating module.
Minimum credits: 130
Module content:
In this module students are equipped with an understanding of the moral issues influencing human agency in economic and political contexts. In particular philosophy equips students with analytical reasoning skills necessary to understand and solve complex moral problems related to economic and political decision making. We demonstrate to students how the biggest questions concerning the socio-economic aspects of our lives can be broken down and illuminated through reasoned debate. Examples of themes which may be covered in the module include justice and the common good, a moral consideration of the nature and role of economic markets on society, issues concerning justice and equality, and dilemmas of loyalty. The works of philosophers covered may for instance include that of Aristotle, Locke, Bentham, Mill, Kant, Rawls, Friedman, Nozick, Bernstein, Dworkin, Sandel, Walzer, and MacIntyre.
Module content:
Basic principles of law of contract. Law of sales, credit agreements, lease.
Module content:
Labour law. Aspects of security law. Law of insolvency. Entrepreneurial law; company law, law concerning close corporations. Law of partnerships.
Module content:
Microeconomics
Microeconomic insight is provided into: consumer and producer theory, general microeconomic equilibrium, Pareto-optimality and optimality of the price mechanism, welfare economics, market forms and the production structure of South Africa. Statistic and econometric analysis of microeconomic issues.
Module content:
Microeconomics
From general equilibrium and economic welfare to uncertainty and asymmetric information. In this module we apply the principles learned in EKN 224 on the world around us by looking at the microeconomic principles of labour and capital markets, as well as reasons why the free market system could fail. We touch on the government’s role in market failures. The course includes topics of the mathematical and econometric analysis of microeconomic issues.
Module content:
Introduction to financial management in agriculture: Farm management and agricultural finance, farm management information; analysis and interpretation of farm financial statements; risk and farm planning. Budgets: partial, break-even, enterprise, total, cash flow and capital budgets. Time value of money. Introduction to production and resource use: the agricultural production function, total physical product curve, marginal physical product curve, average physical product curve, stages of production. Assessing short-term business costs; Economics of short-term decisions. Economics of input substitution: Least-cost use of inputs for a given output, short-term least-cost input use, effects of input price changes. Least-cost input use for a given budget. Economics of product substitution. Product combinations for maximum profit. Economics of crop and animal production.
Module content:
The agribusiness system; the unique characteristics of agricultural products; marketing functions and costs; market structure; historical evolution of agricultural marketing in South Africa. Marketing environment and price analysis in agriculture: Introduction to supply and demand analysis.
Marketing plan and strategies for agricultural commodities; market analysis; product management; distribution channels for agricultural commodities, the agricultural supply chain, the agricultural futures market.
Module content:
Logistics management
The role of logistics in an enterprise; definition and scope of customer service; electronic and other logistics information systems; inventory management; materials management with special reference to Japanese systems; management of the supply chain. Methods of transport and transport costs; types and costs of warehousing; electronic aids in materials handling; cost and price determination of purchases; organising for logistics management; methods for improving logistics performance.
Module content:
Project management and negotiations:
Introduction Project management concepts; needs identification; the project, the project manager and the project team; types of project organisations; project communication and documentation. Planning and control: planning, scheduling and schedule control of projects; resource considerations and allocations; cost planning and performance evaluation.
Negotiation and collective bargaining: The nature of negotiation; preparation for negotiation; negotiating for purposes of climate creation; persuasive communication; handling conflict and aggression; specialised negotiation and collective bargaining in the South African context.
Minimum credits: 124
Core = 88
Electives = 32
Module content:
Public finance
Role of government in the economy. Welfare economics and theory of optimality. Ways of correcting market failures. Government expenditure theories, models and programmes. Government revenue. Models on taxation, effects of taxation on the economy. Assessment of taxation from an optimality and efficiency point of view. South African perspective on public finance.
Module content:
Economic analyses
Identification, collection and interpretation process of relevant economic data; the national accounts (i.e. income and production accounts, the national financial account, the balance of payments and input-output tables); economic growth; inflation; employment, unemployment, wages, productivity and income distribution; business cycles; financial indicators; fiscal indicators; social indicators; international comparisons; relationships between economic time series - regression analysis; long-term future studies and scenario analysis; overall assessment of the South African economy from 1994 onwards.
Module content:
Historical evolution of South African agricultural policy. Agriculture and the state (communicating the legislative process in detail): reasons for government intervention (government and stakeholder engagement). Theoretical aspects of agricultural policy. Introduction to agricultural policy analysis. Welfare principles, pareto optimality. Macroeconomic policy and the agricultural sector. International agricultural trade (including inter-governmental communication).
Module content:
The modern food and agribusiness system. Key drivers in the global context. Whole farm planning and budget development The financial analysis of farm financial, financial modelling, the financing decision: capital acquisition, creditworthiness, different capital sources, capital structures. The investment decision and working capital management. Value chains in agribusiness. Risk management. Strategic management and marketing principles in agribusiness. Operational management and human resources management. Business planning for agribusiness.
Module content:
After providing an appropriate background in the theoretical concepts of demand (theory of the consumer) and supply (theory of the firm) these basics will be applied in the generation of optimization techniques such as Lagrange optimization and linear programming. The work will cover the identification of supply and demand shifters as well as the elasticities, flexibilities, and impact multipliers. The theory will underpin the development of econometric simulation models for selected agricultural sectors. Practical experience in the formulation of these models will be attained from practical sessions.
Module content:
Derivative instruments in agriculture: To prepare students for taking the SAFEX Agricultural Markets Division brokerage exam. Giving an in-depth knowledge on the importance of hedging. Giving an in-depth knowledge on designing and implementation of low/zero risk hedging strategies. Introduction to the mathematics of portfolio management and mathematical modelling of derivatives. Working knowledge of the mathematical relationships in the management of a hedged portfolio. Working knowledge on the applicable software for managing derivative portfolios. Introduction into the management of option portfolios. To expand the thinking on the uses of derivatives, by also dealing with the hedging of diesel cost, interest rates and weather events.
Module content:
This module reviews the origins and evolution of natural and environmental resource economics and its present-day main paradigms. Sources of externalities and causes of environmental degradation are examined. An introduction to the concepts and methods backing the design and implementation of environmental policies are provided. Economic valuation of natural and environmental resources is introduced.
Module content:
This course covers data management, data exploration and analytical techniques commonly used for agricultural market analysis within a data science framework. It considers best practices in working with secondary data and covers regression analysis and inference testing as a means to estimate causal relationships between variables. Other analytical techniques will be covered, including cluster analysis. Analytical concepts will be applied and interpreted through practical estimation and simulation.
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