FARM MURDERS ARE WORRYING

"It is with horror that the farming community of Gauteng must listen to yet another farm attack, another uncle and aunt murdered and mutilated in the most brutal way every week", says Dirk Hanekom, Head Manager of Agri Gauteng.

Another farmer who has been killed is reported on almost daily. The absence of reliable official statistics on incidents on farms makes it more difficult to determine whether progress is being made in the fight against farm violence.  

Farm murders result in families being torn apart and a big disruption for farm workers, since their livelihood on farms is threatened. "The saddest of all is that it makes no difference how much energy the police invest into crime prevention, the frequency of farm violence remains high. It is a bad omen for food production or food safety in South Africa" says Hanekom.

Priority must urgently be given to the protection of farms by both farmers and farmers' associations on the one side and the police on the other side. The announcement and implementation of the reservist policy, as well as the accompanying training, must now urgently receive priority attention by the police. Agri Gauteng appeals to the Minister of Police to release the policy now and together with that make available the necessary resources to reservists to effectively implement rural protection together with the farming community.

Statement issued by  Dirk Hanekom, Head Manager, Agri Gauteng, February 23 2012

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