Program Overview

Programme: BComHons specialising in Agricultural Economics

Introduction

The BComHons specialising in Agricultural Economics is a postgraduate programme offered by the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of Pretoria.

Programme Information

• Code: Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences
• Department: Economic and Management Sciences Dean's Office
• Credits: 120
• Duration: Minimum duration of study: 1 year
• NQF level: 08

Admission Requirements

1. Relevant Bachelor of Commerce degree
2. A weighted average of at least 60% at final-year level
3. An average of at least 60% each for the Agricultural Economics modules (LEK 310, 320, 431 and 432, or equivalent)

Other Programme-Specific Information

Students intending to continue with the MCom degree in Agricultural Economics are advised to choose their elective modules from MIE 780, EKT 713, EKT 723, and LEK 711.

Examinations and Pass Requirements

Subject to the provisions of General Academic Regulation G26, a head of department determines, in consultation with the Dean, when the honours examinations in his/her department will take place.

• Honours examinations which do not take place before the end of the academic year must take place before the closing date of the special exam period in the beginning of the following academic year, and all examination results must be submitted to Student Administration before the closing date of submission of marks.
• Honours examinations which do not take place before the end of the first semester may take place no later than the closing date of the exam period, and all examination results must be submitted to Student Administration on or before the closing date of submission of marks.

The head of the department determines:

• Whether a candidate will be admitted to a supplementary examination, provided that a supplementary examination is granted, only once in a maximum of two prescribed semester modules or once in one year module.
• The manner in which research reports are prepared and examined in his/her department.

Supplementary examinations (if granted) cover the same subject matter as was the case for the examinations. A student may not enrol for the same module more than once, unless the dean has approved a second enrolment based on an application supported by a valid reason or motivation.

Minimum Credits and Module Distribution

• Minimum credits: 120
• Core modules: 105 credits
• Elective modules: 15 credits

Core Modules

• LEK 713: Agricultural marketing 713 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: Introduction to the food system, food system dynamics, marketing and the food value chain, global food marketing trends, marketing strategies and plans, consumer behaviour & marketing research, collecting information, forecasting demand, conducting market research, consumer research tools, marketing of agricultural products, risk in agricultural commodity marketing, connecting with customers, building strong brands, creating value, food franchising, food quality, labelling & food safety, intellectual property and geographical indicators, delivering value, supply chain management, contract growing, conducting marketing responsibility for long-term success, communicating value, marketing in the 21st century, case study analysis, industry case study.
• LEK 720: Agribusiness management 720 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: Strategic management in agriculture, dynamics of agricultural management, entrepreneurship, environmental scanning, productivity measurement and improvement thereof by the organisation of manpower, capital and financial sources, business growth, formulation and implementation of competitive strategy, corporate governance, strategic analysis and strategic choice, strategy implementation, balanced scorecard.
• LEK 722: Agricultural finance and risk management 722 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: Agricultural finance, economic theory underlying agricultural finance and agricultural finance institutions, supply and demand of agricultural financial services, servicing the farm and the agricultural business firm, agricultural finance within the broader financial market in South and Southern Africa, risk assessment and management, risk in agricultural finance and mitigation strategies.
• LEK 777: Agribusiness research report: Case study 777 (Credits: 30.00)
  • Module content: In this module, students have to select a specific agribusiness and analyse one key dimension of this business, which could include marketing programme, supply chain management, strategic plan, market analyses, etc. This component of the course should serve as an opportunity for students to identify prevalent problems in an agribusiness and to devise appropriate solutions.
• LEK 782: International agricultural trade and policy 782 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: WTO/GATT-1994 and agricultural related Agreements and Understandings, regionalism and trade blocks, international trade and economic development, South Africa's agricultural trade policy, involvement in bilateral and plurilateral agreements, application of international market analysis tools, international trade and tariff statistics, trade modelling, theory and familiarity in international and regional databases.
• LEK 788: Agricultural supply chain management 788 (Credits: 15.00)
  • 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 cross-functional and multidisciplinary nature of supply chain management as it applies in the global food industry.

Elective Modules

• EKT 713: Econometrics 713 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: An introductory yet comprehensive course in econometrics, encompassing an in-depth examination of elementary statistics and regression analysis, including the fundamentals of simple and multiple regression analyses, as well as estimation, inference, and hypothesis testing.
• EKT 723: Econometrics 723 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: An advanced course in econometrics that goes beyond elementary statistics and regression analysis, including in-depth analyses of the theory and application of stationarity, unit roots, and co-integration in single equations, as well as the concepts of qualitative analysis, cross-sectional modelling, and simultaneous-equation modelling.
• LEK 711: Advanced production economics 711 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: Advanced production economics, including the primal approach (structure of the production technology and properties, elasticity of substitution, homogeneity and returns to scale, separability, estimation of technology parameters and testing hypothesis about properties, functional forms), normative supply analysis, dual approach, positive supply analysis, and risk and uncertainty.
• LEK 784: Advanced rural finance 784 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: Advanced rural finance, including economic theory underlying rural financial markets and institutions, economic growth and financial services, supply and demand of financial services in rural areas, rural financial institutions, and application to South and Southern Africa.
• LEK 785: Agricultural project planning and appraisal 785 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: Project planning and priority setting, economic analysis of agricultural development projects, monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment, project management, and welfare economics and political economy considerations.
• MIE 780: Microeconomics 780 (Credits: 15.00)
  • Module content: The core concepts of microeconomic theory, including demand and supply, consumer theory, firm theory, markets and market structure, general equilibrium, information economics, and behavioural economics, with applications of this theory featuring prominently.