Police, farmers and agricultural stakeholders are strengthening efforts to combat praedial larceny in Valencia.
At a consultation on Thursday, officers of the Eastern Division, the Praedial Larceny Squad and members of the Sills Farmers Support Group explored measures to address farm theft in the area.
A representative from the Ministry of Agriculture Legal Unit, Navindra Lutchman, was also present to take note of the farmers’ concerns.
Some farmers noted that their crops are not only being stolen but that their lives are also being threatened.
According to Mr Lutchman, one of the measures being proposed is the TTPS Eagle Eye System.
“This service doesn’t guarantee the TTPS reaching there one time, but what it guarantees is that the footage they will have it from the time they get a call or the siren goes off or something as such, they could pull up the cameras and look to see where the perpetrator is heading, what he’s wearing, a vehicle make, model number. Those stuff is what they can do from the time they get that call.”
Inspector Birbal, attached to the Praedial Larceny Unit, says there has been an increase in stop and search exercises, which resulted in people being charged for theft of agricultural produce.
“We are increasing our stop and search exercises where vehicles conveying livestock and produce, we are asking them, we stopping them, and once they produce receipts, some of them are producing receipts to verify where they get the items from, others are not. We charge persons for failing to produce a memoranda.”
Inspector Callender, attached to the Eastern Division, suggested the development of a farmers’ registry to identify legitimate farmers.
“If we can be furnished with a list of all the farmers that it have in the Valencia community and not just their names, a farmers’ registry we want to create with their names; their addresses; their vehicle numbers, that they usually transport their praedial produce from point A to point B; and the location of their land.”
He also noted that patrols by the TTPS Mounted Branch in the area are very likely to begin in the coming weeks.
President of Sills Farmers Support Group, Bindra Maharaj, is urging all farmers to continue to highlight their challenges.
“But we need to have farmers understand that if you have a voice, it is time to use that voice to air your views, whether it is problem with your land tenure, whether it is problem with your infrastructure or the roads, or what about your ponding? We are in the El Niño now, right? Look at the type of weather we are having.”
All stakeholders present vowed to work closely with farmers moving forward to provide assistance in a timely manner.