Cattle farmer, Dr Karl Wellington, looks on as workmen erect a gate at the entrance to the YS farms in Holland Bamboo, St Elizabeth. - Photo by Mark Titus

PORT MARIA, St Mary:

Farmers in St Mary are working closely with the police to ensure success in the fight against praedial larceny even as efforts continue to reduce the practice.

As in other parishes, praedial larceny has been a major challenge confronting the farming community, resulting in losses totalling millions of dollars yearly. Among the communities most affected are Robins Bay and Fellowship Hall.

Through a special programme of cooperation to identify praedial thieves and bring them to justice, police personnel in the parish have significantly increased their presence in affected communities and have established lines of communication between the farmers and themselves, to facilitate the speedy reporting of cases.

Positive results

Lavon Murdoch, Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) parish manager for St Mary, said the programme of cooperation between the police and the farmers had been producing positive results, adding that the relationship was also helping to discourage the negative impressions the community forms against those who cooperate with the police.

Murdoch pointed out that to strengthen cooperation and communication, police personnel have been ex-changing telephone numbers with farmers and have been attending JAS branch meetings in different communities. Murdoch said the JAS would be making every effort to ensure that cooperation remains strong in the fight against praedial larceny in the parish.

Murdoch said that in addition to working with the police, farmers are also cooperating by purchasing receipt books. Those, she said, were very critical in the campaign.