Farming sector under siege by criminals

It is the middle of a typically cold winter in the farming areas surrounding Ficksburg in the Free State. Elsabe Botha (name changed), one of many local farmers, has had a particularly tough month: between theft and nine separate incidents of arson on her property in July 2020 alone, she calculates that she has lost 100ha of her mature maize crops.

But this is only one example of numerous similar crimes suffered by South African farmers in recent months. According to those in the know, the escalation of these property-related crimes on farms this year has largely been driven by the mounting negative socio-economic effects of the country’s COVID-19 national lockdown.

The leaders of various organised agriculture bodies generally share the perception that in the highly restrictive early days of the lockdown, which started on 26 March, there was a noticeable decline