Well-known agricultural economist Prof Herbert Ian Behrmann died tragically after being hit by a bus in his home city of Pietermaritzburg in KZN recently. He was 88.
Although he had a widespread positive impact on agriculture in KZN and the rest of South Africa, Behrmann was mainly remembered for his role as a founding member of the renowned Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Natal (now the University of KwaZulu-Natal) in 1948.
Behrmann grew up in Bulwer, matriculated at Maritzburg College and then studied at the University of Pretoria where he obtained a BSc and MSc in agricultural economics.
“During the Second World War, my father’s skills in agricultural production resulted in him being kept in the country to produce food,” Berhmann’s daughter Yvonne Fletcher told Farmer’s Weekly. “After the war he worked for some years with the Department of Agriculture in Pretoria. At this time he also wrote lunchtime market reports for the SABC.”
At a later stage, Behrmann taught at various agricultural colleges. He married his late wife, Rene Harris, in 1946 and the couple had three children, Yvonne, Claude and Peter.
In 1960 Behrmann received his PhD and became a professor of agricultural economics. After retiring in 1983, he continued to lecture students and participate in the department’s activities until 2003. “He was a liberal economic thinker and believed in opening up agricultural markets,” said Prof Lieb Nieuwoudt, a colleague of Behrmann since 1967.
Behrmann was well known for his belief in maintaining a healthy body and mind. He regularly played tennis up to the age of 84. He is survived by his three children, four grandsons and a granddaughter. – Lloyd Phillips
