Prof Johann Kirsten is the Director of the Bureau for Economic Research since 1 August 2016. Before this appointment he was Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development in the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Pretoria for 20 years.

He was born in Cape Town and matriculated from the Hoërskool Jan van Riebeeck in Cape Town in 1979. Subsequently he enrolled for undergraduate studies at the University of Stellenbosch and completed the BSc Agric degree and a BSc Agric (Hons) degree in Agricultural Economics. He started his career as an agricultural economist in the Department of Agriculture in Pretoria and also enrolled for post graduate studies at the University of Pretoria. He obtained a Master’s degree and PhD degree in Agricultural Economics at the University of Pretoria and joined the University of Pretoria as lecturer in 1992. During his career of more than 30 years as academic he has published more than 130 articles in peer reviewed journals as author and co-author and also co-edited 6 books. A total of 81 Master’s students and 32 PhD students completed their studies under his supervision. He is a regular contributor to Business Day, LandbouWeekblad and Farmers’ Weekly and participated in variety of TV news and in-depth in-studio discussions