Photo: FW Archive
The executive board of the International Society for the Study of Rural Crime (ISSRC) recently bestowed the prestigious Joseph F. Donnermeyer New Scholar Award on Dr Willem Lombard, an agricultural economist at the University of the Free State.
According to an ISSRC statement, the award went to Lombard for research done on stock theft in South Africa.
“This is an exceptional honour. Stock theft impacts hugely on the sustainability and profitability of livestock production in the county. The aim of the study was to estimate the financial impact of, and identify factors affecting, sheep and goat theft in KwaZulu-Natal. This kind of data is of the essence to form a true picture of the extent and impact of stock theft in South Africa,” Lombard said.
ISSRC executive member and South African, Willie Clack, told Farmer’s Weekly all research on issues affecting rural safety and security, such as stock theft, was an invaluable asset for the country.
According to him, criminology research globally was biased towards urban crimes, specifically violent urban crime.
“South Africa is no exception, despite the South African Human Rights Commission’s recommendation that research on safety and security challenges in rural areas is important and should continue. This is why Lombard’s work is so important,” he said.
According to Clack, the dilemma of this paradox was that citizens around the world believed that crime largely existed in urban areas, which resulted in the academic world rather researching the phenomena within urban settings.
According to the scientific article Lombard submitted to the ISSRC, the direct cost of livestock theft in KwaZulu-Natal amounted to about R44,7 million in annual losses.
Research conducted by Lombard and YT Batha in 2017 among 228 livestock farmers in KwaZulu-Natal found that sheep to the value of R16,69 million and goats valued at R28,08 million were lost to stock theft.
The research revealed that official statistics under-represented sheep and goat thefts. Also, the recovery rates were much lower than shown in official statistics.
“Official statistics show that livestock theft in South Africa cost the country [about] R514 million annually. However, it is likely that [these] statistics are miscalculated and underestimated. That is a matter of concern,” he said.
