Tommie Esterhuyse, chairperson of FSA’s law and order committee, appealed to farmers to be vigilant, particularly over weekends and on Sundays.
“Organise patrols especially around church times. Criminals choose weekends to be more active because their chances for success are better,” he said.
Criminals are targeting farmers as well as farm workers. In the latest incident, farmers and the police are searching for suspects after they shot at farm workers in the Parys district on 11 October.
The workers were inspecting fields at the time and no one was injured.
Earlier this week, four suspects were arrested in connection with an attack on a Vierfontein farmer. In a separate incident, a worker was held at gunpoint on a farm in the Clocolan region, and these suspects are still at large.
Another attack, on a farm between Tweeling and Reitz, was prevented. Three suspects wearing balaclavas and gloves were apprehended as a result of co-operation between the police and farmers.
