Farmers are facing a troubling shift in farm theft, with crooks now striking in broad daylight, intensifying fears among workers and forcing authorities to reconsider how they combat the crime.
The issue emerged during an overnight crop patrol involving Minister of Agriculture Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, officers of The Barbados Police Service and the ministry, where talks with farmers revealed that thieves were now targeting fields at all hours.
Chief Agricultural Officer Paul Lucas said the revelation that crops were being stolen during the day underscored how the crime had evolved:
“That puts a whole new dimension to things because usually you would expect that thieves would hit at night, but because of how the situation has changed, we recognise that it has to be a very coordinated operation.”
He said tackling crop and livestock theft, popularly known as praedial larceny, would require stronger collaboration among farmers, law enforcement and the ministry:
“From our standpoint it’s important for us to create some linkages among the farmers, the Police Service and the Ministry of Agriculture, as well as other stakeholders who we believe might be able to address this issue.
“In the same way in which the thieves are coordinating themselves, I believe it’s important for us now to step up and create those important linkages where we could actually address this issue.”
For Valley Island Farm manager Ron Hope, the changing pattern of theft has had consequences far beyond the loss of produce:
“Praedial larceny has been a bugbear, eye sore, finger sore, every kind of sore for this farm.
“It affects my profitability. It affects my general living on the farm as it relates to my family, workers being scared to come to work, because we had praedial larceny during the day as well. It’s terrible, terrible… I can’t say how terrible it is as it relates to how the farm is run and how everything operates around here.”
The farm minister’s decision to accompany the patrol was an encouraging step, Hope said.
“This is the best approach. Who feels it knows it, and the fact that the minister and others have come out and tried to really understand how praedial larceny is affecting the farmer, it will also go a long way in finding a better solution against praedial larceny.”
Senior Constable Kirk Straker, part of the four-month-old Crop Patrol Unit, said maintaining strong relationships with farmers has been key to the unit’s success:
“You would have heard the farmers interact with me and my team, and the farmers would call me directly, even sometimes before they even called the police, because of the interest we have in farming.
“As long as the farmers plug into the police on the crop patrol and let them know where their crops are when they are reaping, we can do a great job.”
According to Straker, reported cases had declined in some districts this year, noting that one suspect had already been charged while investigators were making progress in another recent case.
Intelligence gathering remained central to the fight against farm theft, he said, particularly as criminals sought to exploit weaknesses in the system.
Addressing the market for stolen produce, Straker said police were paying closer attention to the certificates used to verify legitimate purchases.
“We already have something in place relative to the consumers buying stolen produce,” he said.
“But we have to even watch that because a person… could use a certificate from last week and steal something and use it for this week.”
Officers’ familiarity with different crop varieties helped them identify inconsistencies during investigations:
“If you said that you bought this type of potato when I know that the farmer is missing another type of potato, I would know how to operate because I have an idea of different varieties of potatoes… cucumbers… melons. So you have to show interest.”
As criminals continued adapting their methods, Lucas said the authorities would also have to evolve their response through greater coordination and intelligence-sharing to better protect farmers and safeguard the country’s food supply.
(SM)
