Acting decisively on praedial larceny

It isn't enough for the Agriculture Minister, Kazim Hosein, to ask crop and livestock thieves to stop stealing. Any farmer would tell him that asking for rain doesn't change nature, the committed agriculturist works a plan.

So thieves won't stop stealing in favour of growing their own crops as Mr Hosein hopes, they will only stop when there is an official response that makes the activity unattractive.

Since the minister also made the call in October, he can expect it to have the same effect, which is none whatever.

Instead, farmers nationwide can only hope for the execution of plans to put teeth into the Praedial Larceny Squad of the Police Service and strengthen the Agriculture Ministry's own Praedial Larceny Unit.

But the Agriculture Minister should be clear that dealing with the theft of produce and livestock cannot rely only on increased patrols.

Managing the crime will also demand informed detective work to have any impact.

The first step will come from the collection and analysis of data related to losses from agricultural theft. How much is being lost? What produce and livestock are being targeted? How is it disposed of?

These are just the first steps in understanding what is likely to be an offshoot of the general surge in crime nationally, one that strikes at the heart of any government effort to increase agricultural production.

A 2010 report on praedial larceny in Caricom by Dr Barbara Graham found that 82 per cent of farmers and fishermen were affected by the crime, losing at least 17.9 per cent of their output with a value of US$321 million annually.

Individual farmers face losses ranging between 35 to 100 per cent of their crops through organised theft. Some decrease their acreages to better protect their crop yields, leading to decreased employment and further shrinkage in the sector.

This is a critical challenge for TT after all the hopeful talk of improving agriculture productivity that dominated the second Agri-Investment Forum in August 2022.

To address the challenge of praedial larceny, the Agriculture Ministry must work more effectively with stakeholders to modernise practices and systems in the industry.

Those measures must include insistence on a higher level of record keeping in all aspects of the business, from employment and background vetting of workers to listings of assets, major tools and land under cultivation.

Infrastructural support should include greater efforts to make electricity available for lighting and surveillance systems, more accessible roadways to ensure that patrolling and maintenance of properties is possible and the establishment of communal-farm watch systems supported by the Police Service that pool available manpower in preventive patrols.

Tangible action must be taken to curb praedial larceny, not threats or vague entreaties.