Farmers home away from home, a reality check

I was fortunate enough to spend a weekend in White River recently, a small holiday and farming town north of Nelspruit.

And while the area is abundantly prosperous with produce such as citrus and timber, an important job creator, one of the key takeaways in chatting to the locals was that some of the farmers are no longer living on their farms.

The total number of verified farm attacks in South Africa for the 2016/2017 period is 357 and the amount of murders is a disturbing 74, according to the latest AfriForum research.

And instead of being faced with such statistics, the farmers have chosen to live in towns close by, while continuing to work on the farms. A tough reality choice to keep the engines turning.