Farmers from Bathurst and the surrounding areas are turning to hi-tech security cameras in a quest to protect their workers and farms.
Agri SA rural safety and general affairs director Kobus Visser released a report on Thursday stating that various security initiatives were under way to protect farm land.
The report highlighted farm attacks as one of the agricultural sector's major challenges.
“Farmers worldwide are subjected to crime. In South Africa, the difference is that the farming community must also contend with farm attacks – something farmers in the rest of the world do not experience,” he said. 
Visser said they had prioritised farm attacks and created a trust fund to assist with farm security.
Visser’s research shows that over the past 19 years, there have been 12 567 farm attacks and 1 733 murders.
This averages 661 attacks and 91 murders per year, equating to more than 7 murders a month.Agri SA said over the past six years 18% of farm murders happened in the Eastern Cape with 5% of farm attacks nationwide occurring in the province.
“The figures provides a clear picture of the magnitude of farm attacks and the threat to farm safety that the community experiences daily,” the report stated.
The leading provinces for farm attacks nationally over the past six years, were the North West where  24% of the attacks took place, followed by Gauteng which account for 21% of attacks, KwaZulu-Natal which stood at 15% and the Free State with 10%.
Visser said the Argi Securitas Trust Fund was established to assist farmers and had already been involved in projects such as installing CCTV cameras, communication systems, boom gates and by providing drones and night vision cameras.
One of the projects highlighted in the report was the Albany Bathurst District Agricultural Union's  drive to launch CCTV cameras on various roads to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic.
The report stated that the area was affected by crime, such as stock theft, home burglaries, armed robbery and farm attacks.
“Rural safety plans have been developed, with the police participating in crime-fighting efforts. Camera systems, funded partially by the trust fund, are used to monitor vehicle movement in the areas.
"The cameras essentially provide information that is constantly monitored by a control room, this offering a permanent observation capability across the area," the report said. 
A similar CCTV camera initiative was launched by various private security companies in Nelson Mandela Bay within the last two years.
“People who live on farms in rural areas, are particularly vulnerable to armed farm attacks where response times are lengthy because of the remoteness of the farms.
"This offers attackers an opportunity to linger on the premises for longer, with a greater chance of the victim being subjected to a high degree of violence and brutality, compared to crimes in urban areas where the police, security companies and neighbours arrive sooner to render assistance," the report read.