Hanover farmers urged to report farm theft
Published:Tuesday | January 11, 2022 | 12:07 AMBryan Miller/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
HARD HIT by praedial larceny, Hanover farmers have been urged to report matters of stolen property to the police, and also develop a close relationship with the lawmen to reduce incidents and recover losses by having the culprits dealt with through the judicial system.
In an interview with The Gleaner, Superintendent Sharon Beeput said that while a praedial larceny unit is not located in the Hanover Police Division she heads, there are trained personnel to deal with such matters.
“Every station has someone who has been trained to deal with the matter,” she emphasised, noting that the police could not act in tackling the problem if the farmers do not make reports.
Similar sentiments were expressed by Aston King, deputy parish manager of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).
“Praedial larceny – from animals to crops – is a great problem in the parish, similar to what is happening across the island. All areas tend to suffer from praedial larceny,” said King.
Jamaica is estimated to lose some $7 billion annually due to farm theft.
While King did not have an estimate of losses suffered by the roughly 8,000 farmers in Hanover last year, he said that incidents of theft are usually reported to the RADA officers, who would then advise the farmers to also report the matter to the police.
He is advising the farmers to create a working relationship with the police teams that patrol their respective areas and also to band together to provide security for each other.
“Be your brother’s keeper, basically,” he said.
Similar to when natural disasters strike and farmers lose crops and animals, RADA – a state agency nestled in the agriculture ministry – also provides some assistance to those affected by theft of their produce or livestock.
Recently, two animal farmers in neighbouring Westmoreland were killed by criminals as they stole their goats.
“We farmers in this parish are considering ourselves fortunate that no one has been killed to date during these stealing episodes,” said a farmer in Ramble, Hanover. “But we need more action from the police within the parish with regard to agricultural matters.”