DTA speaks out on farm attacks

The escalating attacks on commercial farmers over the past two decades point to a deep-rooted culture that disregards the significant contribution that commercial farms make to the economy and lives of many Namibians. This is according to the president of the DTA, McHenry Venaani, who was responding to the latest spate of murders. Namibian Sun this week published an in-depth article about the increase in farm murders over the last 15 years. During this period, 39 people were murdered and there were 41 attacks on farms. So far this year, seven farm attacks and three murders have been reported. Venaani said the attacks might discourage young Namibians from pursuing farming and that would have a negative impact on the country’s food security. He warned that if Namibia is not careful it could follow in Zimbabwe’s footsteps. According to Venaani it would be unfortunate if Namibia were to follow the Zimbabwean route of not appreciating the critical role commercial farmers play in contributing to the Gross Domestic Product. He said the persistent trend of attacks on commercial farms over the last 20 years has the potential to discourage young Namibians from pursuing commercial farming as a career path, adding that one dreads to think about the consequences that could hold for food security. Venaani stressed that the agricultural sector is directly responsible for the daily bread of over 40% of Namibians. “It is essential that the government does everything within its power to not only protect the interests of communal farmers, but also commercial farmers, as inevitably concrete employment opportunities within the agricultural sector are more often derived from commercial farms as opposed to their communal counterparts,” said Venaani. He called on the police to initiate an aggressive vigilante approach to protect commercial farms from robbery and murder. According to him, visibility is the only mechanism that can effectively deter criminals, since long prison sentences do not seem to discourage the unscrupulous criminals who take advantage of the relative isolation of their targets to minimise the chances of being caught. “We recognise that it may be physically impossible for Nampol to patrol each and every commercial farm, accordingly we call on the Namibian nation to stand up in solidarity and help protect our brothers and sisters on commercial farms, and thus we encourage all Namibians to report any and all suspicious activities to their local police stations.” He further said the DTA believes that the agricultural sector is not being utilised to its optimal capacity as farmers are being hindered by various technical obstacles. These obstacles include the lack of diversified international markets to which their produce or goods can be sold at higher profit margins. “And whilst that issue and all other ancillary ones necessarily need to be addressed, problems cannot be addressed in a vacuum, and thus it is critical that belief is restored among commercial farmers that their incomparable contribution to the functioning of our economy is valued and that the government will go out of its way to protect their lives and livelihood,” said Venaani. He further expressed sympathy with the plight of commercial farmers and extended condolences on behalf of the party to the family and friends of those “whose lives have been violently cut short by ruthless criminals who target defenceless, isolated, often elderly, people who remain the backbone of the agricultural sector.” WINDHOEK ELLANIE SMIT