Before joining the University of Pretoria in 1992, Johann Frederick Kirsten was an agricultural economist in the Department of Agriculture of South Africa and agricultural attaché at the South African Embassy in London. He is a part-time member of the National Agricultural Marketing Council and has been chairperson of Food Price Monitoring Committee. Kirsten earned a B.Sc. in agricultural economics from the University of Stellenbosch and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in agricultural economics from the University of Pretoria. He has published extensively on agricultural issues affecting South Africa.