Agri Securitas Trust Fund has announced that it has allocated R1.5 million in funding for 420 farmers and 15 500 agricultural labourers for improving the safety and security of South Africa’s farming community.
Fund chair Japie Grobler said the funding would be disbursed through 12 farming associations and would mainly go toward the installation of camera networks and the related procurement of security systems and equipment.
“The safety of our farmers and farm workers is important and, with the financial assistance of the Trust Fund, we help to protect the asset that is responsible for stability and food security in the country.
“The degree to which the farming community is subject to violence and property-related crime poses an enormous problem for the sector and all South Africans should be made aware of this.
“At the same time, we must also take note of the crime that threatens other communities in the country and the negative impact this has on their right to safety,” Grobler told a fresh produce news portal based in the Netherlands.
Provinces that have been earmarked for receiving funding include North West, the Northern Cape, Limpopo, Kwa-Zulu Natal and the Western Cape.
It is hoped that the utilisation of hi-tech camera surveillance systems will help farmers and their workers to curb stock theft, one of the most pressing ills affecting the agricultural sector.