Tips for farmers on fire risk mitigation

Dr Musiwalo Moses Khangale, Disaster Risk Management Expert at Santam

Environmental factors such as shifting weather patterns, sprawling human settlements, and a degradation of infrastructure mean landowners are having to deal with more fires than in the past. As an example, the Western Cape Government has reported that ongoing wildfire activity since the start of the summer fire season in November 2025 has impacted a number of properties across the province.^[1]

Unfortunately, these wildfires are increasingly frequent, extensive, and devastating. And the domestic agriculture sector is more exposed to the systemic risk of climate change than any other sector. Farms are particularly vulnerable to wildfires, however, the impact stretches far beyond farms and livestock, affecting entire communities and livelihoods supporting this trend, the latest Santam Insurance Barometer Report found that 64% of the agriculture-focused business respondents highlighted climate change as a top concern, up from 45% in 2023.

The primary causes of wildfires on farms includes:

• Farmers burning for grazing, regeneration of vegetation and control of nuisance animals
• Land owners burning debris either for invasive alien plant control or general landscaping
• Burning for grazing around residential areas and informal settlements
• Fire break burning
• Ecological burning
• Arson

Understanding risk and liability

While most farmers take precautions against fire, insurance to cover this peril is not a one-size-fits-all. Farmers need insurance against fire damage to crops, assets as well as natural rangeland and pastures.

Fire is not treated as a standalone peril but is rather bundled or integrated as part of other coverages. For example, when a client purchases a hail product, fire is included as part of the package rather than a separate policy.

A farmer's own property (e.g. buildings, sheds and the contents of such) would typically be insured against fire damage under a Material Damage Section (e.g. the Fire, Building Combined or Office Contents Section). Other assets, including livestock and game, would be protected under a Livestock and Game Section. Extinguishing a fire on an agricultural property can incur huge costs and involve expensive measures, including water bombing by air. An agricultural insurance policy will typically indemnify farmers against reasonable fire extinguishing costs under various sections if the property is threatened by fire. Certain crops, such as sugarcane, are excluded from fire cover due to the high level of risk involved, so producers of these crops should prioritise fire prevention measures.

Most Agricultural insurance policies exclude legal liability for spreading of fire due to the high risk involved, but additional cover can usually be purchased.

How farmers can be more fire-smart

Along with updating cover and assessing risk, farmers can take these proactive steps to be more prepared to effectively manage fire risks:  

• Learning to recognise the weather conditions associated with high fire danger: temperature, wind speed/direction and humidity.

• Owners of thatched houses must take all necessary precautions such as installing drenchers, using fire blankets and having fire extinguishers to hand.
• Using technology: satellite-based fire information tools such AFIS provides real-time fire information.
• Investing in well-maintained firefighting equipment (such as a petrol/diesel-powered water pump).
• Creating a veld fire plan, covering the eventualities of both staying and defending your property or leaving it ahead of the veld fire.
• Restricting the use of farm machinery on days when the fire danger is high.
• Being extra careful when using welding, cutting and grinding equipment.
• Establishing firebreaks between their land and roads or railways.
• Training staff in firefighting techniques and safety standards for smoking, burning rubbish, etc.
• Joining a Fire Protection Association (FPA): These community-based landowner organisations are set up to help predict, prevent, manage and extinguish veld, forest and mountain fires. Effective management of veldfires requires organisational structure, strategy, plans, information, networks, skills and equipment that can seldom be provided by a landowner alone.