Being a farmer in SA is one of the most dangerous jobs on the planet

Every week a farmer is killed in South Africa, this number is twice as high as the number of police officers killed and so basically being a South African farmer is twice as dangerous as being a police officer!  

In the USA you have the highest odds to die from a heart disease, in South Africa if you are a farmer you have the highest chances in the world to be murdered, but is there a political and racial plot behind these violent farm attacks in South Africa? It is a question in South Africa that causes a lot of debates.

A common fact in South Africa is that most of these horribly violent farm attacks are committed just for a small amount of money and possessions of little value, farmers are getting angrier and angrier because they feel targeted and the police and government aren't making these crimes a priority. A few years ago a study was conducted to look closely at the motives of these farm attacks:
- Robbery                          89.3%
- Intimidation                     7.1%
- Political/Racial                2.0%
- Labour-related issues     1.6%

In June 2011, a South African farmer was killed in an attack just 12 hours after himself and his family moved in! But his wife and daughters survived.  The couple were asleep in their home in Muldersdrift (near Johannesburg) when they woke up at 3:50am to discover two men standing over their bed, they then shot and killed Mr. Pistorious and then shot his wife in the stomach. The robbers stole only a cellphone and a torch.

The crimes committed against those working and living on a farm are extremely serious, the farms are often in a very remote area, there are no close neighbours and because of this the response times from the police and security companies is always very slow, farmers are overall a very vulnerable group!

Maybe the government needs to see how urgent and serious these crimes are against the farming community, they are special problems in need of a special solution.

Are you in need of special farm protection or do you know someone who does? Contact the guys at SIS – Security Investigation Services they can help you out not only with farm protection, but also guarding, security and technical services.  

Written By: Christine Romans