Illegal khat trade on Eastern Cape farms
The protected Catha edulis tree (khat) has long been a medicinal plant, first among the Bushmen and then the Xhosa. But since the mid-1990s, Somali immigrants have boosted the trade in this illegal drug, leading to increased trespassing on Eastern Cape farms, worrying crime-wary farmers. Mike Burgess reports.
Armed robbery committed in police uniform
Just before 9pm, on Tuesday, 10 July, four men entered Sourveldt farm in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands.
Protecting the herd
The government’s land reform projects have been scrutinised from a number of angles but to date no studies have focused specifically on crime.
Staying healthy
It’s not always true that, because they’re out of the ‘rat race’, farmers are healthier than city commuters who spend their days behind a desk and in the traffic. Roelof Bezuidenhout reports.
Science meets rural development
A 12-year-old project, in which 100 000 fruit trees have been planted in two rural Eastern Cape districts, is achieving outstanding results. Jaco Visser reports.
Are farmers hurting themselves with symbols?
Following on from my recent post about the different ways in which farmers and farmer organisations react via the media to farm attacks,
Abusing the Bushman’s canvas
Retired farmer Victor Briggs began studying rock art almost 40 years ago. He told Mike Burgess about the pitiful state of many of South Africa’s rock art shelters, and what can be done to save the Bushman’s canvas.
Two very different farmer reactions to recent episodes of farm violence
A few months ago while bumming around North West I stumbled upon a Pieter Koen gig in a district of game ranches called Koedoesrand.
Use your freedoms wisely cautions former intelligence co-ordinator
The storm over a risque satirical painting of President Jacob Zuma has led ANC leaders like Gwede Mantashe to warn South Africans not to make gratuitous use of constitutional freedoms.
Citrusdal’s tragic harvest
Poverty and moral decay leave a wake of violence, threatening farm security in the tranquil Cederberg. Sean Christie reports.
Some controversy on farm murder monument
The annual pilgrimage of farmers and sympathetic parties to the so-called farm murder monument on the slopes of the Ysterberg alongside the N1 near Mokopane is set to take place on 2 June this year.
Government fails farmers in bureaucratic bungle
A year ago, Minister Joemat-Pettersson said that progress in agriculture needed encouragement and smallholder farmers must be placed at the centre of rural economies. How then could government allow the derailment of the Ongeluksnek Valley farming project? Lloyd Phillips investigates.
