Webinar : Farm Security Conference

CONTINUED gruesome criminal activities within the farming and rural communities continue to plague farmers in the various agricultural settings across the country. This volatile security situation has not only caused some psychological pain, but has also impacted on the agricultural economy. These crimes have deprived the country of strategic skills in the agricultural sector and robbed it of the expertise needed to contribute towards economic growth and food security.

Agriculture and safety experts concur that farm attacks have been on the rise since May 2020 and are therefore calling for government intervention at this point to ensure people’s safety as well as meeting food security requirements. Lack of progress from the government side on the long awaited rural safety and reservist system has let down the security outlook within the agricultural sector. This has threatened the strategic interest of agriculture and
undermined confidence in the sector. Uncertainty and escalating rural crime are not conducive to an environment where agriculture can perform and contribute to economic development and growth. The Covid19 pandemic is set to make the economic woes within the farming community unbearable, hence the need for collaboration now.