By Robert Hart, Staff ReporterAMENDMENTS TO the Agricultural Produce Act are raising the concern of some members of Parliament's Joint Select Committee set up to examine the Bill. The amendments seek to provide better protection for the agricultural sector which, according to reports from the Jamaica Agricultural Society, has registered losses in excess of $4 billion through praedial larceny.
Speaking during the first meeting of the committee yesterday, Opposition Senator and committee member Bruce Golding questioned the practicality of the proposed new system of monitoring individuals who transport produce.
"Do we not run the risk of so encumbering these itinerant people... are we running the risk of subjecting them to all sorts of harassment on the road which may in fact have an adverse effect on the farmers' ability to dispose of his produce and to earn a living?" Senator Golding asked. He was referring to the many unofficial 'higglers' who, he suggested, have taken over from individuals officially registered as produce dealers.
J.C. Hutchinson, Opposition spokesman on agriculture, complained that there was no way to determine, within the Bill, what is a 'commercial' versus a 'domestic' amount of produce. Persons transporting a 'commercial' quantity of produce would require a receipt of purchase to indicate, to querying police officers, that no incident of theft had occurred.
"If you just leave it willynilly and its going to be left to the officer, then I think you are going to have a problem," he said.
Senator Golding also raised concern about the literacy levels of the country's traditional farmers and the possibility of a resulting inability to operate under the new system.
"The traditional farming community is not distinguished in terms of its excellence in literacy. By imposing a requirement that is now going to make books and writing and signing and so on... are we not imposing a burden that many farmers are going to find it impossible to cope with?" he asked. There was a strong possibility that the existing requirements for certification have been ignored because "it hasn't fit into the culture of our traditional farmers," he added.
Currently, the Act makes provisions for the issuing of certificates to licensed dealers whenever agricultural produce is in transit. According to committee chairman Roger Clarke, who is the Minister of Agriculture, the certification system is a method of monitoring produce, as only legitimate traders should be in possession of the certificate.
The amendment to the Bill seeks to implement a compulsory produce receipt book system. Minister Clarke noted that the system is "expected to serve as a convenient means of identifying ownership (and source) of agricultural produce being transported within the island", as well as to facilitate the detection of praedial larceny. The Bill also seeks to update the penalties imposed under the Act.
The committee has agreed to allow the legal team, drafting the amendment Bill, to examine the concerns and return with recommendations for changes.
