Enforce the laws

While there is stronger legislation in place to address praedial larceny, one senior government official is adamant that these laws be enforced, especially regarding persons vending on the highway.

In the latter months of 2017, Government passed the Protection of Agricultural Products and Livestock Act, giving harsher penalties to those persons found stealing crops and animals.

However, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and Water Resource Management, Andrew Gittens, stated that it was time for enforcement.

“Late last year, this legislation passed in Parliament to ensure that farmers can reap what they plant and those who don’t plant can’t reap what they didn’t plant. I think what we need now is some enforcement though. Only this weekend, I was passing down the highway and I saw a couple fellas with sugar cane. While I can’t say they didn’t plant the cane, it is highly unlikely these fellas are cane producers. They didn’t look so to me and I think that is one of the areas we have to work on,” he said.

Gittens also suggested that the onus was on the general public to ensure that the funds made from these crops ended up in the right hands.

“I have always said, I don’t have a problem with who steals because I don’t buy from them. I can’t guarantee who steals from who doesn’t, but at least you have to show me that you look like a farmer, behave like a farmer and act like a farmer, but I am not going to just buy from anybody selling cane on the highway because I don’t know where the cane came from,” he added.

He was speaking at the Stakeholder Consultation for the Skills Needs Assessment for Agriculture and Fisheries held at the Savannah Hotel yesterday.

Aligning herself with the comments, Labour Minister Dr. Esther Byer-Suckoo said that with the legislation in place, structures could be implemented to better manage the situation.
(JMB)