Rural security upgrades worth R1.9m available thanks to Agri Securitas

Agri SA’s rural safety initiative, Agri Securitas, has allocated R1.9m for security enhancement projects across five provinces, with a portion of the funds coming to the Eastern Cape.

Agri Securitas Trust Fund chair Cobus van Zyl said it had received 22 requests for funding from farmer associations in the Eastern Cape, KwaZuluNatal, Mpumalanga, Free State and North West.

And while the fund believes the R1.9m will be applied effectively, the need for further funds and security measures remains overwhelming.

“The farming community’s safety is a food security issue,” Van Zyl said.

“The vulnerability of farming communities and rural communities is therefore not only a farmers’ issue but a community issue and a national imperative.

“It is therefore important to support farming communities in their vigilance, to safeguard them and their workers.”

According to Agri Securitas, agricultural crime exceeded R7.7bn in 2018.

The figure has undoubtedly increased over the last few years as stock theft alone has led to an estimated loss of close to R1bn just in the Eastern Cape.

Agri Securitas says a further R1.9bn could be needed for more camera installations and security equipment upgrades across the country.

The organisation has assisted farming communities since 1999 in its efforts to protect farmers, workers and operations, and to improve relationships between farming communities and their local police.

Since then the Agri Securitas Trust Fund, which is mostly donor-funded, has disbursed more than R16m.

‘’Most of the funding requests from farmer associations were for the installation or expanding of camera systems,” Van Zyl said.

“These are reported by local communities to be the most successful method for both deterrence and tracking of suspects.

“These systems cover large parts of the rural areas, and their blanket coverage provides valuable information in the investigation of criminal activities.”

Many of these systems make use of licence plate recognition, which plays a vital role in tracking the movement of suspicious vehicles, especially when stock theft cases or farm attacks are reported.

Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede voiced his appreciation of the private sector’s contribution to Agri Securitas and how its donations were being put to work to keep farmers safe.

“Agri SA is grateful to the trust fund and the contributions of corporate institutions and private donors that help our farmer associations, and we urge South Africans to continue to contribute to the trust to fill this vital gap.

“Through these donations we can secure our farming communities and enable them to operate and put food on the tables of all South Africans.”

The exact allocation of the funds among the 22 applicants is yet to be determined.

Van der Rheede also urged police minister Bheki Cele to fast-track the more effective implementation of the SAPS’s rural safety strategy as it would assist in preventing crime, save lives and businesses, and ensure that South Africans continued to have food security.