Farm Attacks

[Fudzy]

Article edited: source added.

Thanks and thanks for posting the full article so I dont need to register.

 

[member2204]

1,535 wit mense en slegs 225 swart mense op plase vermoor sedert 1990 - TLU.

So maybe it's proportional to the number of farms owned by white and black farmers.

 

[etienne_marais]

Farm murder statistics of 2015 worse than the 2014 figures

January 16, 2015 at 6:32 pm

The civil rights group AfriForum and the agricultural union TLU SA announced on Thursday that since January 1, 1990 more than 1 700 farm murders occurred in South Africa.

“In 2007 there was an increase of about 25% in farm attacks. In the same year the police department decided that no further statistics on farm attacks and murders may be released. For this reason we believe that the government deprioritized farm murders. Since then it has been left to the civil society to gather data themselves, “said AfriForum and TLU SA.”

According to the organizations, there were a total of 277 confirmed attacks and 67 confirmed farm murders in 2014. “It appears that the statistics of 2015 to date is even darker than the 2014 figures.”

During the morning of 12 January 2015 two farm attacks took place, during which three murders were committed. Since January 1, there have already been nine farm murders committed in total. This is more than a farm murder every two days. “If this rate of farm murders in 2015 continues then this year there will be more than 200 farm murders,” the organizations said.

Both AfriForum and TLU SA have expressed concern about the political environment that has been created in South Africa in terms of violence against farmers. “Our experience is that South Africa’s food producers are used as a political punching bag and used by politicians as scapegoats for South Africa’s crises. The fact that the ruling party does not stand up in public for the protection of farmers rights, is a confirming aspect. ”

“According to AfriForum and TLU SA the wave of farm murders that has engulfed the country is confirmation that the police’s rural safety plan is not effective.”
The two organizations also have made information and graphs available regarding farm attacks and murders:

Vulnerable areas:

Gauteng – North of Pretoria (Wallmansthal)
Mpumalanga – Ermelo Korridor
Limpopo – Tzaneen and the Vivo Gap
North West – Brits and Rustenburg
Free State – Bloemfontein / Botshabelo
Newly activated areas:

KwaZulu-Natal – Vryheid, Midlands and South Coast
Eastern Cape – Barkly East

http://southafricatoday.net/south-a...atistics-of-2015-worse-than-the-2014-figures/

 

[etienne_marais]

Previous article based on: http://maroelamedia.co.za/blog/nuus/suid-afrika/statistieke-oor-plaasaanvalle-en-moorde-vrygestel/

 

[etienne_marais]

Farm murders on the rise - AfriForum

2015-01-15 16:02

Pretoria - A total of 67 people were murdered on farms across South Africa in 2014, AfriForum said on Thursday.

"We are releasing the statistics because the government, particularly the police department, has been refusing to release any information about farm attacks since 2007," deputy AfriForum CEO, Ernst Roets, told reporters in Pretoria.

The statistics were jointly released by AfriForum and the Transvaal Agricultural Union (Tau SA).

"We have found that in the last five years there has been a gradual increase, not only in farm attacks, but also in farm murders across South Africa," said Roets.

In a bid to curb the farm attacks, Roets said the two organisations would be implementing several strategies, which include protests.

"We need to follow a double strategy. One area of focus is a campaign to put pressure on government through the media, protest rallies and so forth.

"The other part is to get communities more involved. We are saying people should look after their own safety, people should be aware of the problem and get involved with community safety structures," said Roets.

The statistics indicate that there were 277 farm attacks that the two organisations could verify in 2014.

The organisation's statistics show that the number of murders on farms rose from 62 in 2013 to 67 in 2014.

The farm attacks rose from 231 to 277 in the same period.

They said this was the highest figure recorded since 1990. A total of nine murders on farms have already been recorded this year.

TAU SA assistant general manager, Chris van Zyl, said the number of commercial farmers was decreasing annually.

"From 2006, the number of farm murders is within the 60 to 67 range. Given the reality that the number of farmers are decreasing annually, that is very concerning," said Van Zyl.

He said farm residents should take charge of their own security.

Not racially motivated

Earlier this week, Deputy Agriculture Minister Bheki Cele said farm killings were not racially motivated.

"We are urging everybody, starting with the media and everybody - take the race issue out of farm murders," Cele said.

"The people that are being killed are farmers... Whether they are white, black, yellow, green or purple, we have seen farmers coming under attack and we treat it as such," he said, adding that his department took the killings seriously.

On Thursday, Van Zyl said analysis showed that the majority of murdered victims were white.

"We don't want to racialise it. My figures indicate that farmers, black and white, are the single greatest group within the murdered victims' environment," he said.

"All we are saying is that the vast majority of murder victims in the country are farmers. If we analyse the victims, the majority are white farmers."

Cele said the agriculture department had a limited role in combating the murders.

"Agriculture cannot say we will arrest those that kill the farmers. We wish we could, but we can't. We cannot say we will shoot them," said the former police commissioner.

On Tuesday Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana acknowledged that the farm attacks were a worrying trend and suggested a forum of farmers, farm workers and farm communities to harmonise relations.

- SAPA

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/Farm-murders-of-the-rise-AfriForum-20150115

 

[Nanfeishen]

Our farmers put food on our tables.....farm killings impacts our economy. At some point other commercial farmers might argue...why take the risk, sell the farm and get the fsck out of here.

Been happening for years, and impacting the economy in many areas for some time already.

Apr 04 2011

There were 120 000 commercial farmers in South Africa in 1994 and only 37 000 remained, which has led to SA importing some of the food it used to produce,

http://www.fin24.com/Companies/Agribusiness/Farmers-leaving-SA-report-20110404

October 31 2011

Ernst Janovsky, head of Absa AgriBusiness, said that in 1980 there had been around 128 000 commercial farmers, which had dropped to 58 000 in 1997 and to just under 40 000 today. Predictions were that this would drop to 15 000 in the next 15 years.

http://www.iol.co.za/mercury/south-africa-s-ever-shrinking-farmers-1.1167943#.VLopJyx3JfA

Oct 26 2012

In the biggest deal to date, Congo offered South African farmers long leases on up to 10 million hectares of land. The region includes abandoned state farms and bush in the remote south-west of the country. The first contracts, which put 88,000 hectares in the hands of 70 farmers, were signed at a ceremony in the country last year.

Agri SA vice-president Theo de Jager said within the next two years more than 300 farmers were expected to be placed in Congo. Latest figures show that as many as 940 South African farmers are settled in Mozambique, while Botswana has just topped the 300 mark.

De Jager added that of the 120,000 farmers operating in South Africa in the 1980s, only 37,000 remained in the country.

"What is even more problematic is that the average age of our farmers is 62, and there don't seem to be any young farmers coming through.

"Many farmers are warning their children not to pursue a career in farming in South Africa.

http://thenewage.co.za/67497-1007-53-Farmers_leaving_South_Africa

Welcome to the Congo
26 October 2012

At the border there was a lavish welcoming ceremony attended by government officials and local media.

http://www.howwemadeitinafrica.com/commercial-farming-in-the-congo-not-for-the-faint-hearted/21576/

2013-03-24

We are told that 50% of commercial farmers in Zambia are South Africans.

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Politics/Loss-of-commercial-farmers-worrisome-20130324

November 01, 2010
The Cape Flats Agricultural Association is one of the oldest agricultural associations in South Africa, celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. Descendants of German immigrant farmers still farm in Philippi, supplying Cape Town with 80% of its fresh produce. But urban development and crime could put an end to this proud farming community.
http://www.farmersweekly.co.za/article.aspx?id=5405&h=Historic-farming-community-under-threat

Direct land ownership is not possible in most African countries. But for SA farmers, who live with the uncertainty of the re-opened land claims process and the threat that farmers will have to give a percentage of their land to their farm workers, a long-term rent contract actually provides more security of tenure than the title deed to a South African farm.

http://www.farmersweekly.co.za/article.aspx?id=65458&h=Opportunities-in-African-countries

Lack of support from government
The department of agriculture currently spends a great deal of energy on developing small-scale and emerging agriculture. Commercial farmers are largely left to fend for themselves. To date they have managed to do so. However, cracks are beginning to show in government’s service delivery to farmers. These will have to be addressed to enable farmers to keep on producing enough food. Ridiculous statements about land reform do not contribute to farmer confidence and will result in lower production in future.

http://www.farmersweekly.co.za/article.aspx?id=64192&h=Food-inflation---who-is-to-blame

As a result, experts say the country is starting to import wheat. The land is on the brink of having to import meat and poultry, which is produced less and less locally.
........................
Five years ago we had a thriving tea industry, today we have nothing. We import from Kenya and Uganda,"

http://www.sowetanlive.co.za/columnists/2012/01/19/farm-crisis-puts-food-supply-in-jeopardy

Rising imports of products originally grown locally, uncertainty within the community, a growing exodus of farmers, lack of government support, so clearly a major problem with economic repercussions already being felt and only to get worse.

 

[Replay]

@Nanfeishen, Ive been aware of most of the situations you've stated above, especially the Congo situation and food imports increasing.
One can also mention the milk industry.....many farmers have left, in some cases switched over to another form of farming such as cattle, fruit & veg etc. Granted, much of this has to do with farmers getting weak Rands for their milk due to too many role players in the chain up to the final retailer.
Nonetheless, we are plunging into a big hole as a country when it comes to local agriculture.

 

[HideInLight]

Seen a dotted map, there's a massive concentration of dots in the Mafikeng area, the further you go from that area the more isolated and spread it becomes. If organised crime have something to do about it, then that would be the best place to start.

Some of these attacks might actually be a means to get rid of the competition, get the farms empty so that they could be bought for cheap.

 

[Nanfeishen]

@Nanfeishen, Ive been aware of most of the situations you've stated above, especially the Congo situation and food imports increasing.
One can also mention the milk industry.....many farmers have left, in some cases switched over to another form of farming such as cattle, fruit & veg etc. Granted, much of this has to do with farmers getting weak Rands for their milk due to too many role players in the chain up to the final retailer.
Nonetheless, we are plunging into a big hole as a country when it comes to local agriculture.

Yep ,and a direct knock-on effect from the loss of other commercial fams

In order to put together a feeding schedule for dairy cows, it is necessary be informed about the requirements of animals and the properties of feeds that are available. In practice ignorance about feeds often leads to animals being fed either too much or too little, with economic losses as a result.

Feeds for dairy cows are divided into roughage (hay, silage, pasturages and straw) and concentrates (maize, wheat, etc.). Many factors have an influence on the nutritional value of roughages like hay and silage, for instance the stage at which crops are harvested, loss of leaves and storage methods.

http://www.elsenburg.com/info/els/091/091e.html

 

[Replay]

Yep ,and a direct knock-on effect from the loss of other commercial fams


http://www.elsenburg.com/info/els/091/091e.html

Eish, very damaging cycle

 

[Midnight_choir_drunk]

You guys do know recent years have been some of our best producing years and biggest exporting ?

 

[Nanfeishen]

You guys do know recent years have been some of our best producing years and biggest exporting ?

In the food industry ?

Poultry imports slaughter industry
31 May 2013

In the past 18 months, five small to medium-sized poultry farms have closed or are in business rescue, with more than 2 000 jobs lost. Over the same period, the larger poultry producers shed 3 000 jobs, with reports indicating that many more enterprises are sustaining losses on an unprecedented scale.

Should this continue unchecked, the industry faces the loss of another 20 000 jobs in the short term. Apart from the immediate impact, future investment will be severely curtailed and no new jobs will be created.

An "industry in distress"
As the poultry industry accounts for about a third of local maize consumption and almost all the soya consumption in the country, the rural economy, its sustainability and future development are also in danger. This scenario represents an "industry in distress" as acknowledged by the department of trade and industry, which, thankfully, is within its rights to consider measures that help producers to remain in business.

Should the industry not be safeguarded, South Africa's national food security is at risk. Being able to feed its own population is key to a country's stability.

October 10 2013

a contention given credibility by the fact that just 2,100 dairy farms are in business today compared with more than 7,000 just eight years ago.

http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/ag...mers-suck-on-hind-teat-as-companies-muscle-in

April 25, 2013

The number of dairy farmers in SA dropped from 3 899 in 2007 to only 2 600 in 2011, and those who remain are faced with an unequal market. Of the 360 buyers in the country, the top five buy 65% of locally produced milk. In short, the major supermarket groups’ dominance is such that they all but have total control of the industry.

Add a 10% to 15% increase in veterinary costs, the proposed electricity increase of 16% and the 52% minimum wage increase, and a number of dairy farmers will not be able to survive the current low producer prices.

03 April 2013
The following table shows area planted and production figures of wheat for the 2011/12 MY (actual), 2012/13 MY (estimate) and 2013/14 MY (forecast).

I
n the 2011/12 MY, South Africa imported almost 1.7 million tons of wheat.

Wheat imports for the 2013/14 MY are expected to increase by about 25 percent to 2.0 million tons, due to an increase in local wheat demand and a decrease in the area planted with wheat in South Africa.

http://www.thecropsite.com/reports/?id=1817

That demonstrates a forecast shift from producing more than we import to importing more than we produce.
A somewhat negative trend.

South Africa Wheat Imports by Year
http://www.indexmundi.com/agriculture/?country=za&commodity=wheat&graph=imports

 

[etienne_marais]

Article by Henri Le Riche, opinions are his.

===

Farm Attackers leave bible on Afrikaner victim’s body

Afrikaner, Kobus Bester (31) stands among the soot and ash which was his mother’s bedroom.

Early on Monday morning he had a call from Bloemfontein, South Africa and had to drive to Theunissen in a hurry with the knowledge: The farm house is burning down.

“Her body lay here. I found her when I picked up a piece of the burnt ceiling. ”

He pointed to a spot on the floor where a small Bible is thrown between parched corn cobs.

Martie Bester (66) lay there in a fetal position lying on her left side, her body wrapped in newspaper.



There were two bags of wood on the bed.

“The wood, the newspapers and the maize cobs were there so my mother could easily catch fire” said Kobus emotionally.

“But the fire never spread to her.”

And the Bible?



“They put it on her right hip. That’s where I got it. They wanted her Bible burned with her. ”

It is a common practice by farm attackers to leave personal belongings, and bible’s on the victim’s body’s. In most cases the women are raped, men and women tortured. Hate crimes is not recognised by the black majority South African regime, though white Afrikaners a 6% minority, are the biggest victims of violent crime, similar to hate crimes in the US.

Martie was a Free State farmer’s wife in bone and marrow.

Her small farm, Erfbloem, almost ten miles out of town where she was a local farmer with a handful of sheep and cattle.

“After my father died four years ago, we could never get her away from here.” said John. “She loved the farm and decided to stay. ”

His mother was busy all day in the kitchen and especially her pantry making things.

“She loved to cook,” says John. “She was particularly love to lay in fruit and vegetables.

“Beans, fruits, anything that she could get her hands on.”

He points to a large burned wall that was part of the pantry, where there were shelves from floor to the ceiling.

“Those shelves were crowded all kinds bottles and jars full of jams etc. self made” said John.

“She was a sentimental person that loved to collect things,” said Veronica, Kobus’s wife.

“In the bedroom, there was a wardrobe with all Kobus’s baby clothes, his puzzles of his childhood, and even his old linen.”

But Mary’s property is now crumbling between stinking black soot, ash and charcoal.

Everything in this house bear witness to horrific events: the burn marks, the holes in the roof, the ceiling charred wood littered all the floors in the house.

This is all that remains of Erfbloem.

They are also charged with rape, robbery and arson.

The two men smiled for the media cameras in court, reported Beeld.



Capt. Francois Laux said, one of the suspects had taken him to the place to point out the crime.

“He was extremely arrogant,” said Laux.

“He said they had strangled her the previous Monday and went back all week, every day, to eat there.”

The man said there was “plenty of food” in Bester’s pantry.

According Laux wanted the men to destroy evidence and they all started last Friday to try to burn down the farm house.

They apparently struggled all weekend to flare up the house.

Kobus is still struggling to find meaning from the clumsy, senseless crime.



His mother’s black small chihuahuatjie, Gizmo, is still missing, but Kobus suspect he was killed in the fire.

Three bags full of stolen items remain on the stand because the thieves never come to claim it.

“They even stole her make-up.”

Kobus then show you what hangs next to the back door frame: a plastic little skeleton (a typical voodoo-like Halloween toy) bounce teasingly around on a string.



“I do not know how come it’s here,” said John. “It’s certainly not ours.”

2015 started badly regarding farm murders. In just the first two weeks of the year eight people already killed bringing the total to more than 4000.

AfriForum on Thursday announced in his records there were last year 277 attacks and 67 murders.

According to Ernst Black, spokesman for the civil rights organization, there’s an increase in the number of murders since 2011 systematically.

“Race should be taken out of the issue of farm murders,” Bheki Cele, deputy minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, last week at a media briefing. “The people who were killed, were farmers. Whether they are white, black yellow, green or blue, we see farmers who are attacked and we approach it that way. ”

Clearly there is a race issue the black majority South African police service do not want to acknowledge, as it will put their employer, the black nationalist ANC regime of South Africa in a further state of embarrassment with the international community regarding their dismal record on minority rights.

http://www.henrileriche.com/2015/01/18/farm-attackers-leave-bible-on-afrikaner-victims-body/

 

[etienne_marais]

Related Article (to post #93)

===

Three murders in 2 farm attacks within 24 hours: Free State

Three people were killed in 24 hours in two different attacks on farms in the Free State.

A woman from Theunissen was murdered on Monday shortly after 06:00 on a farm and her farmhouse was burned down.

Free State Agriculture said the suspects had fled with the woman’s bakkie, registration number CHL097FS.

The suspects stole firearms from the house.

The police were still on scene Monday afternoon with trackers and helicopters to search for the suspects.

Tommy Esterhuyse, chairman of Free State Agriculture’s law-and-order committee said it was with shock and horror that the organization took note of the incident.

He expressed hope that the suspects will soon be tracked down and prosecuted. The organization wants to encourage farmers once again to look after their own safety as well as to link up with security structures in their environment.

In the second attack a man and a woman from Bloemfontein were murdered around Sunday night in a farmhouse at Bainsvlei, Bloemfontein.

Two suspects were arrested on Monday morning after which a long search began for the two bodies.

The bodies were found not far from the farmhouse where the murders supposedly took place. The bodies were found after one of the suspects talked about the night’s events to the police.

The man did not farm on the farm. He worked at the Vergezocht oil company.

According to Pierre Hugo, managing director of the company, the man was “a very good man, who worked hard”.

A large number of police constables and investigators were at the scene to solve the mystery.

The names of the husband and wife could not be confirmed.

http://southafricatoday.net/south-a...in-2-farm-attacks-within-24-hours-free-state/

 

[Pitbull]

etienne_marais,

I do believe we have serious farm murder issues but this one above seems like an opportunity crime and they had a whole week to live in the house. They later tried to destroy the evidence. I don't see this as a "farm murder" in the racist hate sense tbh.

 

[etienne_marais]

etienne_marais,

I do believe we have serious farm murder issues but this one above seems like an opportunity crime and they had a whole week to live in the house. They later tried to destroy the evidence. I don't see this as a "farm murder" in the racist hate sense tbh.

You may or may not be right about the nature of the attack, but I post with the idea that people can make decisions/deductions for themselves so I'll post articles with different slants. Open for discussion of course.

 

[etienne_marais]

Theunissen Attack 2015

Farm Attack many years ago

 

[Fudzy]

You may or may not be right about the nature of the attack, but I post with the idea that people can make decisions/deductions for themselves so I'll post articles with different slants. Open for discussion of course.

Opinion pieces figures are not accurate.

 

[Fudzy]

Farm Attack many years ago
View attachment 185138

Where did this picture come from?

 

[Fudzy]

AfriForum on Thursday announced in his records there were last year 277 attacks and 67 murders.

According to Ernst Black, spokesman for the civil rights organization,

Don't they mean Ernst Roets or was that a Freudian slip?