THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE ANNOUNCEMENT recently by Senator Norman Grant, Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) president, regarding the establishment of a National Praedial Larceny Secretariat (NPLS) to support the anti-theft legislation before Parliament is a good step in the right direction.
One of the reasons that agriculture has suffered so adversely from the scourge of praedial larceny is the lack of co-ordinating reporting, quantifying and costing process to bring to light the intensity of the problem.
In order to highlight the blight that praedial larceny (the 'two-foot puss') is placing on our strongest area of primary production let us look at the picture of some of the items that are being stolen. This will change the narrow view expressed by so many Jamaicans on the topic.
Categories include:
Livestock (poultry, cattle, goats, pigs, goats); horticulture; aquaculture (fish pond farming, fish pots stealing at sea;
Export crops. Stealing of top soil, water, fencing and sand-mining are also impacting negatively on farming.
Staple crops, (yams, sweet potato etc.), the mainstay of small farmers and the nation's food supply are the ones that bear the brunt of the problem.
In summary, praedial larceny is taking a heavy toll and having a negative impact on the nation's farming capacity.
It is time that the Biblical commandment "Let him that stole, steal no more but rather work with his hands" Ephesians 4:28 come to pass in Jamaica, land we love.
I am, etc.,
Dr. FRANK LAWRENCE, J.P.
President, St. Ann JAS
