We must ensure safety to encourage investment in and growth of the sector.
By Wandile Sihlobo, Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz)
The one issue I haven’t written about, but that is increasingly a challenge in some areas, is stock theft and crop and fruit theft. The data on some of these issues is scant, but I was reminded of this this morning when Statistics South Africa released its Governance, Public Safety, and Justice Survey results.
In the agricultural section, Statistics South Africa indicated that in 2024/25, 61 352 goats were stolen, followed by cattle (37 947) and poultry (36 486).
Source: Statistics South Africa
Statistics South Africa also provided a valuable table (see below) that illustrates the locations where theft of livestock occurred and the type of livestock that was stolen in 2024/25.
We can see here that nearly half the incidences occurred in a kraal/outside the house, followed by when livestock is in the fields/grazing land (40.7%).
In terms of what the thieves are after, we can see that goats (39.8%) were the most common livestock stolen in 2024/25, followed by cattle (24.6%).
Source: Statistics South Africa
If we want to continue having a prosperous agricultural sector, we must exercise strong control over these issues. This could be through enhanced collaboration between the police services and organised agriculture groups.
The Impact Of Theft On Farmers
Theft results in enormous costs to farmers and agribusinesses. In fact, if you talk to any commercial farmer you will learn that over time, there is significant spending on security. I have seen several farmers installing cameras and several security measures because of concerns about crime.
For new entrant farmers, who may also have a relatively weak financial capacity, stock theft can drive some out of business. The same is true for smallholder farmers, who are also victims of such crimes, leaving households in an even worse position.
Crime and theft are not unique to South Africa. We have seen cases of avocado theft in Mexico and other regions of the world. New Zealand has also struggled with similar issues of avocado theft. The response in these countries has generally been enhanced collaboration between farmers and police services. We also need to see this kind of response in South Africa, but at a significantly higher level than we are currently seeing.
Agriculture Is An Essential Sector Of SA’s Economy
We must also not forget that South Africa continues to view agriculture as one of the key sectors to our long-term growth agenda. To achieve the long-term growth objectives, we need the release of more than two million hectares of government land to farmers with title deeds, as well as an increase in investment. The investment will increase if there is confidence in the security of our sector. Thus, issues of crime must also be prioritised and addressed swiftly.
We are also in a space where we, as a country, are encouraging young people to join the sector. For young and new entrant farmers to thrive and have confidence in the sector, there must be an improvement in security. Therefore, fighting crime should remain a top priority in collaboration with organised agriculture.
Again, we are only talking about livestock here, but we know of incidents of crop and fruit theft in some regions of the country that also require serious attention.
Agriculture is an essential sector of our economy, with great potential for job creation and improvement of economic conditions in rural South Africa. Ensuring that farmers are operating in a safe and sound environment is therefore key.
