Limpopo farmers living near the Kruger National Park say elephants escaping from the game reserve are damaging their crops, leading to a loss of income and the ability to feed their families.
The farmers from Madimbo, Masisi, Tshikuyu and Bende Mutale said more elephants have been ravaging their crops in recent months.
Sipho Takadzani, a father of two from Bende Mutale village, about 300m from the park, said he had been affected several times.
Somewhere in the middle of June, the elephants came and damaged everything on my farm. It was a double loss because they first came around March and flattened my farm. We had just replanted our crops when they got damaged in June. We are starving because we survive on farming, said Takadzani.
Sometimes the elephants get into our community because they are running away from those who hunt them. We also fear for our lives.