Agri SA and TLU SA, in a joint statement said
it was difficult to urge their members to remain calm and refrain from acting
irresponsibly while farm attacks and crime against the farming community
continue unabated.
The 53 murders recorded by these organisations this year, compared to 54 last
year, are disturbing. This figure could still increase by the end of the year.
There have already been 383 farm attacks this year, compared to 394 in 2018.
This is indicative of the risk to which farmers and farm workers are exposed
every day.
After recent discussions, the security structures of both organisations
indicated that they were in favour of the creation of a Rural Safety
Coordinating Forum to promote cooperation and unity within the revised Rural
Safety Strategy. The forum will also play a role in coordinating a uniform
viewpoint and/or policy on rural safety and promote cooperation down to
grassroots level. Since stock theft poses the greatest threat to stock farmers,
the Stock Theft Prevention Forum will form part of the proposed Rural Safety
Coordinating Forum.
The forthcoming festive season offers criminals an opportunity to attack
unsuspecting people. For this reason, it is important that the farming
community be more alert and better prepared. Both organisations called on the
police to strengthen their efforts to protect the farming community when they
do their planning for the festive season, through heighten visible policing and
by conducting crime prevention operations.
Adopting the following good habits during the festive season should be
seriously considered:
• Landowners must apply the protocol for farm access and insist on their rights
as owner of the farm. Apply effective access control and always be aware of
visitors on your farm.
• Landowners must become involved in their local organised agriculture and Farm
Watch structures.
• Make sure that alternative communication sources, such as radios, are
available in the event of power outages and disruption in cell phone
reception.
• Avoid selling farm products directly from the farm as far as possible,
especially now that foot-and-mouth disease has broken out. This has already
cost many farmers their lives, for example the recent shooting of a farmer from
Wolmaransstad where criminals, on the pretext of buying sheep, shot him in cold
blood. In another incident in Clocolan, a farmer was seriously assaulted by
prospective livestock buyers.
• Make sure that proper control is exercised over farming inputs and equipment
and that these are securely locked up at night.
• Make sure about the availability of legal representation and determine which
state prosecutors are available.
• Be aware that stock theft might increase during this time. Count your animals
regularly and know where they are grazing.
• When you go on holiday, make sure that valuable possessions such as firearms
are stored safely.
• Make visitors part of your security planning so that they know exactly how to
act in an emergency situation.
Protective measures are never a guarantee that a farm attack or crime will not
occur, but they could delay or foil an attack and give people an opportunity to
raise the alarm. We call on the farming community to be more alert and to step
up their security and apply their basic security measures. Report all
suspicious-looking people and activities to your nearest police station. It is
essential to maintain good communication with the local police.
The South African Pork Producers’ Organisation (SAPPO) coordinates industry interventions and collaboratively manages risks in the value chain to enable the sustainability and profitability of pork producers in South Africa.
