It was while working as a subeditor on an agricultural magazine that I became aware of the plight of farmers in SA. Most South Africans reject the idea of a “white genocide”, but our farmers are certainly under attack.
According to statistics recorded by farmer organisation TAU SA, 71 people were killed in farm attacks in 2020. But it’s not just opportunistic crime in isolated areas that is of concern; many of our large commercial farmers believe they are being targeted in a multitude of other ways as they struggle to survive at the hands of an uncaring government.
Part of the problem is the complete obliviousness of the public when they load up their trolleys at the supermarket of where the food comes from. And the crucial role that our farmers play not only in each of our lives, but for the SA economy as a whole. In the first three quarters of 2024 SA’s agricultural exports were valued at $10.55bn.
Despite the cheerful faces of producers posing with their livestock and fresh produce on the pages of Farmer’s Weekly and Landbouweekblad, many farmers face a daily grind. There is little to no assistance from the government for large commercial producers, who are incidentally the backbone of SA’s food security. When pressed, many farmers admit to mental health challenges.
Farming is by its nature an isolated activity and farming families have less access to health facilities than urban citizens. In addition, there is a culture among these folk of “toughing it out” and just getting on with it. But everyone has their tipping point. Apart from such personal challenges, farmers have to deal with the issue of climate change, the need for increasingly sophisticated and expensive security on farms, and the theft of harvests and livestock.
Over the past year a number of farms have been ravaged by fire, some clearly arson attacks. A record 424,172ha of farm land were destroyed by fire in 2024. Again, the government offers no help — farmers must rely on their own organisations to bail them out by providing feed for their livestock as well as food for families and other necessities to survive.
Farming enterprises in SA are regularly hit by drought as well as floods, destroying lands, buildings and harvests. Insurance premiums are high and the government no longer steps in to help when natural disasters strike as it did in the past.
Diseases such as foot-and-mouth need to be dealt with decisively, but there is a shortage of trained livestock veterinarians in SA. While outbreaks can be contained in large enterprises through effective prevention and treatment systems, smallholders and communal farmers are less able to manage matters and contamination spreads fast.
The poor state of Transnet’s rail network has affected the entire economy, compromising delivery times and driving up prices, but agricultural producers are particularly dependent on efficient logistics as most of the goods they transport are perishable.
Due to the crime situation in the country farmers are having to invest millions of rand in security measures, including electric fencing, alarms and other hi-tech solutions to warn them of attacks. It’s a grudge purchase when profits are low, and even when these systems are in place many fresh produce farmers experience mass theft just before harvest time. Organised syndicates arrive in large vehicles to strip away especially high-end fruit such as avocados. Farmers are virtually powerless against these attacks.
Even worse is livestock theft with large numbers of cattle being driven off in organised raids. Sometimes animals are left in the field dying a slow, agonising death with their limbs chopped off. Again, farmers receive no state assistance to be able to improve their security, and police often do not follow up cases or apprehend anyone.
Due to the load-shedding SA has had to tolerate in the recent past many farmers have had to install expensive solar power solutions to ensure they can keep their machinery and irrigation systems going. All this has added to the financial pressures they experience, and some have been forced to abandon what for many is a calling.
Despite these challenges there are still many extraordinarily brave and resilient farmers in SA, many of whom give back to the community through training and career development for staff, profit-sharing schemes and bursaries for workers’ children — even when they are regularly subjected to blanket and unsubstantiated charges of racism and unfair labour practices.
The farming community as a whole enthusiastically shares knowledge, much of it acquired over centuries and handed down, forming an important part of our national heritage, while ensuring that we have high-quality food on our tables.
SA should celebrate its farmers and the government should do more to help them.
• Fontyn is an independent journalist, copy editor and writing coach.
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