Now, get the thieves!
HARSHER PUNISHMENT for praedial thieves is being promised under the Agricultural Produce (Amendment) Act. Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green, who has vowed to make praedial larceny a priority, told the media on Wednesday that the maximum fine for breaches of the law have moved from $250,000 or three months in prison, to a fine of $3 million and imprisonment of three years.
Such a major leap in fine and imprisonment is significant and should give some comfort to the Island’s long-suffering farmers. But hold the applause we say, for these fines to become the intended deterrent, the criminals first have to be caught, and convicted in order to be punished.
A decade of livestock and produce theft from rural farmers has been estimated at $6 billion. Yet, the prosecutions have been few and far between. Indeed, for the period 2022-2023, only about 52 incidents were reported to the police, which suggests that farmers may have resigned themselves to suffer in silence, for the problem is considered to be much more widespread.
As this newspaper has observed in the past, praedial larceny falls within the category of organised crimes, which means it has to be tackled on a number of fronts. There are the thieves who invade fields and reap what they did not plant, and there are those who buy the stolen goods and take them to market. This is the core of the problem, for the loot is only lucrative if there is an easy way to dispose of it. Minister Green suggests that, in his bid to foil the activities of these thieves, markets will be targeted.
IMPORTANT LINK
The minister also mentioned another important link in the chain of events, the health inspector who has a key role in assessing abattoirs and establishing the protocol for tracing ownership of the items brought to the market.
Farmers invest time, money and sweat equity into growing crops and rearing animals. They do these activities with the intention of using the returns to support their families and meet their obligations, including loan repayment, insurance and increasingly high security costs. It is not an easy job, for they are often confronted by challenging weather. Farm theft negatively impacts the farmer’s financial well-being and affects the viability of farming communities. Is there any wonder why the farming sector is stagnant and remains unattractive to young persons?
Praedial thieves are the bane of the farmers’ existence, and repeated promises to tackle the problem have remained just that – promises. Why, we ask, and not for the first time, has it taken nearly 40 years for agricultural wardens to be introduced? How can it make sense to assign a superintendent of police to a praedial larceny unit within the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) where human resources are already stretched?
Noting that there are other amendments being considered to the law, we suggest that new and creative elements be incorporated into the legislation. For example, if convicted of stealing from a farmer, the thieves should be made to compensate that farmer, if not with money, with their own sweat equity.
Here’s where the JCF can assist the farmers. If it is not already being done, farmers should be given a free security audit and shown how they can use technology and other methods to better secure their livestock, products and farming equipment. It can also encourage the farmers to make videos of their animals, in case it becomes necessary to identify them.
Every farmer lives in fear of being a target, for he knows that the laws of the land are imperfectly enforced. We urge the minister to get on with the job, and let’s help our farmers so they can help the country.
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