Johann Kirsten is Professor and Director of the Bureau for Economic Research (BER) at the University of Stellenbosch. Before this appointment, he was Professor of Agricultural Economics and head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria for 20 years, until 31 July 2016.
He completed his BSc Agric and BSc Agric (Hons) degrees in Agricultural Economics at Stellenbosch in 1984. He began his career as an agricultural economist in the Department of Agriculture in Pretoria, then pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Pretoria, where he obtained a master’s and PhD in Agricultural Economics. He joined the University of Pretoria as a lecturer in 1992. Over a 30-year academic career, he authored or co-authored 140 peer-reviewed papers and supervised 31 PhD and 81 master’s students.
