All Saints’ Primary School captured the Most Creative Garden as well as first prize in the Container Category in the Grow Well! School Gardening Competition. Pictured, the students alongside teacher Gregston Vaughan pose with their awards.

Agriculture sector facing two major problems

 

People may be easily discouraged from entering the field of agriculture by two menacing problems now facing that industry.
 
These are the invasion by monkeys, and praedial larceny by humans.
 
“Troops of monkeys are now migrating into the space occupied by humans and are joining forces with some unscrupulous human beings to wreak havoc on the agricultural sector, as they reap what they did not sow,” pointed out Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Esworth Reid.
 
Addressing the Grow Well! School Gardening Competition Awards Ceremony yesterday, he said suggestions are being made to his Ministry with respect to how “the monkey problem” can be tackled.
 
He revealed that one recommendation is to have a task force put in place to seek the menacing monkeys out and kill them. Whereas, the second suggestion is for the task force to 
go the way of using tranquilliser guns on those found, neuter them and place them in a reserve with the expectation that the population will eventually decrease.
 
“The second in fact may be more humane than the first suggestion,” he expressed.
 
Tackling the problem of humans who engage in praedial larceny, PS Reid disclosed that the Ministry has been working with the Chief Parliamentary Counsel to draft legislation with tough penalties to deal with this issue.
 
“I can report that the Chief Parliamentary Counsel is very advanced in the drafting of this legislation,” he said, further revealing that a first draft of the legislation is already being reviewed by the Ministry for comments.
 
“It is hopeful that this legislation will be shortly before the parliament for debate. I can promise you that the Ministry will do all within its power to protect and develop the agricultural sector”. (TL)
 
 

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