Despite farmers' concerns that stock theft and poaching in the Erongo region's north-west district has reached crisis levels, Erongo police commander commissioner Nikolaus Kupembona says the challenges are manageable as long as strategies are put in place. He says ongoing stock theft and poaching involve "isolated incidents". "It starts with the farmers' own security measures. There are weekend farmers who maybe leave their houses in the care of their workers, and those are some of the issues we need to address." The police last week met with commercial and communal farmers, as well as community leaders. The aim of the meeting was to address farmers’ concerns around stock theft and poaching, which have seen dozens of animals slaughtered and incurred millions of dollars of damage. Statistics for 2023 indicate that Kalkfeld and Omaruru Farmers Association members indicate a total loss of N$1 300 600, consisting of N$636 300 in stock theft, N$357 300 in poaching, and N$307 000 in infrastructure damage, such as to water pumps, gates and fencing.