Kazim Hosein: Praedial Larceny Squad to be revived

Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries Kazim Hosein has announced the Praedial Larceny Squad will be revived.

He spoke on Monday night at a candelight vigil hosted by UWI's Faculty of Food and Agriculture (FFA) to mark World Food Day.

The UN commemorates World Food Day on October 16 and UWI's FFA hosted the vigil at the old administrative building to mark the occasion. The theme of World Food Day 2022 is "Leave no one behind: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life."

Hosein said, "This is the best theme I've heard. We at the ministry reaffirm our commitment to ensure that no one is left behind in this global fight against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

"As a result of the covid pandemic and the Russia–Ukraine conflict, many countries face increased challenges as it relates to food and nutritional security.

"The Government of TT continues to work with local, regional partners to further develop our agricultural sector. We remain grateful for the advice from key partners like UWI and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation as we make steps to reduce our food import bill and increase local production across the value and distribution chain.

"Having been at the ministry for only seven months, I have gained a greater appreciation for farmers, fisher-folk and other stakeholders from visiting several Namdevco farmers and markets, the Carenage Fish Fry Facility and the Agri Forum and Expo. It has been a truly enlightening experience.

"I cannot stress enough the important roles these individuals play in placing food on our tables.

"I would like to send a strong message to those who intend on stealing – they continue to steal cattle, goats, sheep and produce. They are not stopping: People make a lot of sacrifice. You know how long it takes to mind cattle to that stage in life. And they just want to come overnight and thief it. They don't care. And people buy these stolen items and pay no attention.

"In my budget presentation before the Senate, I said we are going to take an all-of-government approach – involve the TTPS, municipal police – and we will revive the Praedial Larceny Squad at the ministry."

Everyone present responded to that comment with raucous applause.

Campus principal Prof Rose-Marie Antoine said, "I am happy about this year's theme. Food security is one of the most important issues of our time. Whether it's caused by natural or man-made disasters, climate change, or increasing prices, we are all increasingly vulnerable to this whole notion of being able to feed ourselves, to be sustainable and move forward with certainty.

"The time for lip service has surely passed."

A student at the vigil commented, "Food production in the Caribbean is dead – that's why we're lighting candles."

As candles were lit for the vigil and the procession around campus began, Safiya Beckford, president of the Student Association for Nutrition and Dietetics, said, "As part of the theme, we would like to challenge people to reduce their food waste by using up what they have at home before they go and buy new stuff, and also trying to come up with creative ways of using those leftover foods."

Lecturer at FFA's Department of Food Production Wendy Ann Isaac said, "We need to make sure we look after everyone's needs. It has a lot of significance to us tonight. Our faculty, FFA, just celebrated 100 years of existence. We came to this vigil at the centre of where our faculty began."

Pointing to the old amin building, Isaac said, "This is the Imperial College of Tropical Agriculture. This is the administrative building where all the students stayed. All here was farms, this entire campus was a sugar cane estate. So we have come a very long way. It is a memorable experience for us to celebrate, together with the rest of the world, World Food Day."