With compassion: Prof. Mohammad Karaan

It is with great shock and regret that Saai learned of Prof. Mohammad Karaan’s death. Prof. Karaan was a pioneer in the agricultural industry on academic, political and economic fronts.

He was the voice of reason in a stressful era during which decisions regarding the how, the what and the where of land reform had to be made. He served the agricultural industry in a distinguished manner at the National Planning Commission and was the architect of Chapter 6 of the national development plan (the so-called Karaan plan). It is and still remains the most successful model for land reform in South Africa and was also applied with great success elsewhere in Africa.

Prof. Karaan himself was an active farmer and thoroughly understood both the theoretical and practical sides of agriculture. He was loved amongst farmers and his death leaves an unfillable void. Saai will continue striving to promote the models developed by him for sustainable land reform and is in cooperation with Agri All Africa involved with a number of projects where it is applied practically.