FARM MANAGEMENT IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE STATE OF THE ART

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this article is to evaluate the present situation of farm management (FM) in South Africa in its professional context. The evolution of FM in the USA, the UK and Australia has been used as the norm to evaluate the progress of FM teaching and research in South Africa. In order to review the development of FM in South Africa over the past 60 years, the period has been divided into three phases. The outstanding feature of FM in Phase I (1925—1950) was its multidisciplinary nature in contrast with the dominating role of production economics in FM in Phase II (1950—1970). The last 15 years (Phase III) in the evolution of FM is typified by the greater role played by management science in FM. As in the USA, the UK and Australia, it can be said that FM is regarded basically as FM economics (narrower approach) in South Africa today, but attempts are being made to integrate the various disciplines. As far as FM teaching is concerned, the integration is accomplished in two alternative ways. In contrast to the case in the USA, FM research was given the highest priority than other fields of agricultural economics during Phase III. The progress made in FM in SA over the past 15 years was satisfactory on the whole. However, the progress was far from ideal, because there were no strong international leaders in FM during this period. FM will remain a key field of agricultural economics in future, but it can be expected that the relative importance of FM will decline as it did in the USA.