Farm murders are at their lowest than in the past 19 years, a report by agricultural organisation AgriSA has found.
The report‚ Farm Attacks: One of Agriculture’s Challenges‚ was released on Thursday. AgriSA used police crime statistics that show 47 people were murdered on farms in 2017-18 and there were 561 farm attacks.
The year with the highest recorded number of farm murders was 1997-98 when 153 people were murdered. The number of recent farm attacks almost halved from the highest recorded number of 1‚069 in 2001-02.
In total there were 1‚733 murders on farms and 12‚567 farm attacks over nearly two decades.
AgriSA rural safety director Kobus Visser said people living in rural areas were vulnerable because of the lengthy response times and the remoteness of farms.
"This offers the attackers an opportunity to linger on the premises for longer‚ with a greater chance of the victim being subjected to a high degree of violence and brutality‚ compared to crimes in urban areas where the police‚ security companies and neighbours arrive sooner to render assistance."
The report defines farm attacks as violent crimes such as murder‚ rape‚ robbery and bodily harm‚ and violence that destroys farm infrastructure to disrupt farming. The report includes commercial farmers and owners of smallholdings such as emerging farmers‚ farm workers‚ their families and visitors.
Over the period most murders on farms were committed in Gauteng (69)‚ followed by KwaZulu-Natal and North West (61). North West had the most farm attacks with 722‚ followed by Gauteng with 644.
"In the analysis of Gauteng’s statistics‚ it is important to take into account that most farm attacks occur on smallholdings."
The Northern Cape is by far the safest province.
AgriSA said farmers must continue to ensure their own security despite the state’s responsibility to do so. Farmers had installed security cameras, communications systems and boom gates. Others used night vision cameras and drones for their protection.
"Notwithstanding the above‚ the continued attacks on the farming community remain a cause for concern‚ especially since the community is responsible for producing sufficient food for a growing population — something they manage to do successfully."
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