07 November 2023
By: Suzanne Venter
Crooks never rest, not even while the Springboks are making history.
A total of 5,5 tons of seed were stolen from a farm shed near Derby in North West hours after the Springboks won the World Cup for the fourth time on October 28.
“This includes maize and sunflower seeds from Pannar constituting about 15-20% of my seed inputs for the upcoming season,” said farmer Johan Erasmus.
“I paid about R870 000 for the seeds but got a significant discount. The list price of the seeds is much higher.”
Erasmus intended to plant maize on 1 800 hectares but the maize seed for about 250ha was stolen. He also planned to plant sunflowers on 400ha but all the seed was stolen.
At least two more farmers have suffered similar incidents since the break-in at Erasmus’s farm. In one case, more than 70 bags of sunflower seeds were stolen from a farmer in Delareyville, North West.
‘Theft season’ is open
Corné van der Westhuizen, agronomist at Pannar in North West, said seed theft at this time of year is an annual trend. “My experience with sales representatives is that delivery becomes problematic because farmers no longer want the seeds delivered early in the season due to theft,” he said.
“They prefer that we keep it until they need it. This is a big problem because it creates a bottleneck for us when everyone wants their seeds delivered at the same time after it has rained.”
Carl Bamberger, sales representative for Bayer in the Delareyville, Vryburg and Tosca districts, said the company withholds seed deliveries in potential high-risk areas.
“Seed theft remains a problem. Most of our seeds have already been delivered, and as soon as other farmers request their seeds we will try to deliver them as soon as possible. Hopefully within three days,” said Bamberger.
Seed theft syndicate
It is suspected that a notorious seed theft syndicate, known for stealing seeds especially in North West and the Free State, is involved in some of these thefts. In at least one case, a vehicle previously linked to theft by the syndicate was used.
Riaan van Zyl, head of the Sisu farm watch in the Setlagole, Mosita and Stella areas in North West, said he received information about an intended seed theft between Derby and Boons a few hours after the Springboks’ victory over the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final.
“I tried to pass on the information to security personnel I know in that area,” said Van Zyl.
Fanus Schutte, founder of the crimefighting group Crime Buster, is one of the people who received Van Zyl’s message.
“I shared the information on WhatsApp in security groups where possible, and also started contacting seed sellers,” said Schutte.
However, many of the people warned saw their messages only on Sunday after celebrating the Boks’ victory. “The thieves work very cleverly,” said Van Zyl.
