Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Indar Weir
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Indar Weir is giving the farming community the assurance that the nagging issue of praedial larceny is high on the agenda of his Ministry, which is seeking to work with local law enforcement to bring the problem under control.
Speaking recently to The Barbados Advocate, Weir indicated that his Ministry is working in collaboration with the Royal Barbados Police Force, to have a focused unit within the Force that would deal specifically with praedial larceny. Reflecting on the latest reports of crop theft, he indicated that they believe that such a unit is needed to stop persons from continuing to reap what they have not sown, which he noted, puts the very livelihoods of the impacted farmers’ at risk.
His comments came as he indicated that his Ministry is also working assiduously to ensure that the requisite legislative environment is in place to prosecute those who are caught stealing agricultural produce. To that end, he said that they will be seeking to bring new legislation to Parliament in the not too distant future. He made the point, while revealing that Cabinet has already agreed that the Protection of Agricultural Products and Livestock Bill, passed back in 2017, will be repealed and replaced with a new legal framework, which is “more applicable” to what is required today, particularly he said, as it relates to the use of technology.
“...So drones will be part of it and block chain technology will be a part of it, so that we can have a traceability approach. With such an approach we would have greater control in terms of what crops were planted and where they are planted and who they are sold to etc. – and this is our intelligence, this is not information that would be out in the public domain,” he stated.
Minister Weir continued, “If you have that seed to sale approach, then it is easier to determine who has stolen crops and we believe that is the best way to deal with it”.
With that in mind, he warned against pointing fingers at any one group, as the culprits engaging in stealing from farmers.
“It is a delicate situation. While I do recognise that there is praedial larceny in Barbados, I am loathed to start pointing fingers because some people are vending who didn’t necessarily take on vending as a source of income previously... I have seen a lot of industrious people who have taken to vending as a means of earning an income, and we have to be careful of accusing them of something they did not do,” he stated.
However, Minister Weir said it is equally important that they find the perpetrators. He made the point while noting that there are several people who engage in praedial larceny as a business, and he is adamant that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated. (JRT)