THE South African Human Rights Commission on Monday launched a 12-month survey into the human rights situation in farming communities. ”Reports of farmer brutality towards their employees, shocking employment and living conditions, massive child labour and the continued murders of farmers have dominated the country’s agriculture and created perceptions of a deeply troubled sector,” commission chairman Barney Pityana declared at the launch. The probe will include public hearings and people will be subpoenaed if necessary, he said. Describing the process as ”long overdue”, Pityana said he hoped it would ”put a spotlight on farming communities in a way that has never happened before”.