| Code | Faculty | Department |
|---|---|---|
| 02255001 | Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences | Department: Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development |
| Credits | Duration | NQF level |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum duration of study: 2 years | Total credits: 180 | NQF level: 09 |
Also consult General Academic Regulations G30-G41.
Residence
On the recommendation of the relevant head of department, the Dean may set specific residential requirements for the MScAgric degree.
Curriculum
Subject to programme-specific requirements, the curriculum for the MScAgric degree consists of the following:
Note: Additional modules may be required in order to reach the desired level of competency
Students should complete a module in research methodology as preparation for the dissertation module.
Core: 60 credits
Elective: 30 credits
ADDITIONAL PROGRAMME INFORMATION
Additional to the four compulsory core modules, students must select TWO elective modules to the value of 30 credits (15 credits each) according to the area of specialisation as stipulated below.
Please note that not all electives are presented each year. The presentation of an elective module is dependent on the number of students interested in enrolling for the module.
Areas of specialisation with relevant electives:
Module content:
Econometrics. Linear regression: assumptions of the linear regression model, OLS estimators and properties, hypothesis testing (single and multiple restrictions), forecasting, dummy variables. Violations of the linear model assumptions: multi-colinearity, heteroscedasticity, serial correlation and distributed lag models, (GLS estimators). Advanced topics: Quantitative response models (logit, tobit and probit analysis) co-integration, instrumental variables and 2-stage least squares.
Module content:
Economic models and empirical applications in food demand and agricultural production, welfare economics, risk analysis, and industrial organisation as it relates to the agricultural and food industry.
Module content:
Institutional and behavioural economics. This module will expose students to the principles of the New Institutional Economics paradigm and how it can be utilized to improve the analysis of agricultural economic and agricultural development problems and issues. Major themes covered are: The agricultural development challenge: stylised features; new institutional economics: distinctive features and concepts; institutions and development: A historical and macro-perspective techno-economic characteristics and agricultural systems and products in poor countries; NIE analysis of markets and markets structures; the State: Political and institutional determinants of agricultural policy; collective action; transactions costs in smallholder agriculture; case studies.
Module content:
Research methodology and dissertation design. Research in perspective. The research process. Formulating research problems, hypotheses and objectives. Developing a conceptual framework. Review of literature. Methods and procedures. Data collection, processing and analysis. Developing a good research proposal.
Module content:
This module follows on the final-year module LEK 421 and is taught at the intermediate level and now moves beyond the single input production function to analysis with multi-variable functions. Detailed exposure to production, cost and profit functions, and the duality that exists between these is a core element of the module. The focus will also be on the implications of the properties for the economic behavior of agents. At the end of this module students will have complete competence in algebraically solving for the cost minimisation and profit maximisation problems. Themes covered in the module are: Properties of production functions. Economic theory of cost. Economic Theory of Profits. Duality between the cost and production functions. Duality between the profit and production functions. Applied topics.
Module content:
Agricultural policy analysis. The importance and place of agricultural policy. Policy incidence. Design of agricultural policy Instruments. Public choice theory and agricultural policy. Political economy of agricultural policy. Agricultural policy distortions. The role of the media in agricultural and food policy. Seminars.
Module content:
Review on Economic Role of Prices and Approaches to the Study of Agricultural Market Organization and Performance. Theoretical Models of Market Structure and Performance. Households, Markets and Consumption. Market Characteristics. Demand Analysis - Single and Complete Equations. Supply Analysis. Spatial and Inter-Temporal Analysis of Agricultural Markets for Policy.
Module content:
Nature and scope of financial management. Investment alternatives and philosophy. Investment returns and risks. Security analysis, valuation and management. Turnaround strategies under financial stress: unbundling and unlocking value. Asset allocation and portfolio management. Influence of mega forces on financial decisions. Risk in agriculture and management thereof. Stochastic efficiency measures and simulation. Dynamic decision models.
Module content:
Strategic management process in agribusiness. Strategic direction and leadership. Corporate governance and strategy. Internal environmental analysis for agribusiness strategy. External environmental analysis for an agribusiness. Competitor analysis. Strategy formulation: long-term goals and generic strategies. Strategy formulation: grand and functional strategies. Aligning strategy with industry life cycle. Strategic analysis and choice. Strategic risks. Strategy implementation and change management. Drivers of strategy implementation. Structural drivers and instruments for strategy implementation. Continuous improvement through strategic control and evaluation. Strategic management in not-for-profit organisations. Strategic management concepts for agribusiness in the global marketplace. Scenario planning. Agribusiness case studies.
Module content:
Environmental valuation and policy. This module will review the basic principles of microeconomic theory needed for understanding and analysis of environmental problems, introduce market and non-market techniques of valuation of natural resources and environmental services (hedonic pricing, contingent valuation, transport cost, willingness-to-pay, cost-based techniques, etc.), public goods and environmental externalities, property rights regimes and selection of appropriate environmental policy instruments for management of environmental externalities.
Module content:
The concept and interrelated causes of food insecurity (production, markets and socio-economic climate) and the global food economy. Household coping strategies and response to risk and shocks. Household dynamics (including livelihoods, purchasing behaviour and nutrition). Practical tools for programme and policy analysis and targeting. Evaluation of possible programme and policy options and their effectiveness in terms of achieving comprehensive and pro-poor growth. Sustainable Development Goal two that seeks to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
Module content:
The international and African context for monitoring and evaluation of Sustainable Development Goals related to food security. Indicators, scores, indexes, measurement approaches, systems and analysis methods for multisectoral food security monitoring and evaluation. Best practice related to the identification, selection, presentation and analytical approaches to managing and analysing large datasets across multiple sectors to generate clear, concise findings for policymakers. Communicating food security information for decision makers.
Module content:
Agricultural supply chain analysis. Explore the evolution of supply chain management in the global food industry. Establish the different ways in which supply chain management can provide a source of competitive advantage at industry level and for individual firms. Examine the crossfunctional and multidisciplinary nature of supply chain management as it applies in the global food industry. Introduce the core elements of the theoretical literature on supply chain management and consider applications in different sectors. Provide students with practical experience in applying the principles of supply chain management to the exploitation of a marketing opportunity, using case examples from the fresh produce and meat sectors. Provide students with practical experience of undertaking a supply chain audit, with a view to establishing an appropriate business strategy for a food manufacturing company.
Module content:
Overview of rural finance: conceptual issues. Role of financial services in economic development. Relationship between financial development and economic growth. Economic theory underlying rural financial markets: market and government failure, imperfect information, transaction costs, agency theory, and pecking order theory. Supply of and demand for financial services in rural areas: theory and measurement issues. Estimating credit demand, supply and constraints. Institutions involved in the provision of rural financial services and innovations in rural finance. Assessing performance of institutions providing rural financial services.
Module content:
Review of theories and principles of growth and development. The role of agriculture in rural and economic development. The economic nature of smallholder agriculture. Problems and policies in agricultural and rural development: issues, options and challenges. Strategies for modernising agriculture (lessons from experience). Poverty dynamics, food and the environmental nexus. Land tenure reforms and policy.
Module content:
The economics of natural resources. This course will introduce students to the techniques of optimisation overtime, optimal allocation and management of non-renewable and renewable resources, with case studies from Africa. The influence of property rights regimes on optimal natural resource use will also be stressed. The course consists of three main sections: Methods of dynamic optimisation; Theory of exhaustible and renewable resources and growth models; and Property rights and natural resource use with case studies from Africa.
Module content:
Selected topics in environmental economics. This module will introduce students to various issues of special importance in environmental economics and policy with special emphasis on international dimensions. Examples of key themes to be covered include trade and the environment, trans-boundary externalities, global public goods, multi-lateral environmental agreements, international aid, economic growth and environmental change, poverty and the environment, etc. The main objective of the module is to equip students with the appropriate tools for analysing the linkages between economic development, trade and globalization, poverty, economic and environmental policy and environmental change.
Core: 90 credits
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