Today I am a ...Farm-theft woes

Damion Mitchell, Assistant News Editor

Today, I am a 13-year-old boy still angry about the theft of my three goats more than a year ago. I was looking forward to selling them this summer to help my mother pay my school fee by September and to buy another kid or two to continue the cycle.

But as it turned out, I would be left another victim of the multibillion-dollar business called praedial larceny.

My story of anger, inconvenience and disappointment ripples across rural Jamaica, where farmers have lost their livelihood, hopes and dreams to thieves who the police say operate a highly organised industry valued about $4 billion.

The problem dates back many, many years and so, too, have the so-called counteracting measures. The only difference is that the counteraction has never been commensurate to the magnitude of the problem of the "two-foot puss", as former Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke called it.

In the early 2000s, the receipt-book system was put forward as the solution. That did not work.

Electronic chips

Then, there was the suggestion to insert electronic chips in animals to monitor their movements. That needed not have even been considered, so it was not implemented.

Then there was the suggestion to redirect the focus of the Island Special Constabulary Force to target farm thieves. The jury is still out on that one.

The latest counterattack is a four pronged-approach: public awareness; sensitisation of the police and the judiciary; the review and strengthening of existing laws; and the establishment of a traceability system.

Already, the Government has engaged the police and the judiciary to apprise them of the extent of praedial larceny, with the police saying each member of the force will now tackle the problem and not just so-called 'blue-seam' police.

At the same time, a national coordinator has been appointed to spearhead the drive.

Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is well aware that the issue of public trust in the system must first be satisfied for the initiative to succeed.

"Money is always a problem, but there are things that we are doing and can do which initially don't require a lot of resources," Tufton told The Gleaner.

Reason for hope or more of the same? There is little time left to stop the haemorrhage.

damion.mitchell@gleanerjm.com