John Myers Jr., Staff Reporter
Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) members from Portland listen attentively during the JAS's 110th annual general meeting held yesterday at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston. - RUDOLPH BROWN/CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER
DR. PETER Phillips, Minister of National Security, announced yesterday that his ministry will be acquiring new vehicles, as well as assign personnel from the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF) to assist in the fight to stamp out praedial larceny.
In highlighting the severity of the problem, Dr. Phillips said two officers from the ISCF have been assigned to each JAS parish office islandwide, and six units have been deployed to the six ISCF divisions across the island. He said additional orders have been placed for the procurement of 25 trail bikes and 20 four-wheel drive vehicles to assist with the enforcement of the newly-enacted Praedial Larceny Act.
According to Dr. Phillips, who was addressing farmers yesterday at the annual general meeting of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) held at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, investment in the agricultural sector was an investment in social stability and rural development. Such investment, he explained, was especially important to minimise urban/rural drift and challenge urban crime and violence.
The Security Minister also announced his support for the establishment of a special disaster fund, a portion of which, he said, should be earmarked for farmers to assist with the quick recovery of the agricultural sector.
"Climatic changes in the world and Jamaica's vulnerability to the increasing destructive forces of nature make it now necessary for a dedicated fund to be put in place for rehabilitation," Dr. Phillips said.
Addressing the vexed issue of the payment of insurance claims to the island's coffee farmers, Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke told farmers that his ministry will be lending full support in initiating court action to force the payment of the insurance claims.
GOOD FAITH
"The farmers have placed their insurance for their coffee in good faith. The people who we have insured with are ready to pay and I do not see why the farmers' coffee money should be mixed up with cars that drown in Cayman," Clarke remarked.
According to Mr. Clarke, the Dyoll Insurance Company, which has been placed in liquidation, was paid by the farmers to insure their coffee farms, therefore "we have to fight it to the ground because the farmers are deserving of that money because it is their money and nobody else's money."
The minister was speaking about the devastation to the local coffee industry by Hurricane Ivan last September. The hurricane also caused widespread damage in the Cayman Islands.
