Dr. van der Walt was General Manager of SANSOR, the South African National Seed Organization, from 1989 until 2000. He then retired but remains active as Project Manager for SANSOR. He is a Board Member of AFSTA, the African Seed Trade Association and AFRICABIO, Biotechnology Stakeholders Association.
Prior to his years with SANSOR, Dr. van der Walt worked with the South African Department of Agriculture and as Research Manager for Asgrow in South Africa.