Farmers at Spencer’s, Christ Church, raised the alarm on Tuesday that rampant crop theft has put livelihoods at risk, and they are calling for urgent government intervention.
The latest victim said she and her neighbours were at their wits’ end, as organised thieves continued to target their fields, getting away with their bounty in the dead of night.
Veronica Garnes, a widow who has farmed in the area for over four years, told Barbados TODAY that thieves made off with her entire quarter-acre crop of cantaloupes just days before she was due to harvest and sell them.
“They are gone with all. I am tired. I am frustrated. I feel like giving up,” Garnes said.
Recently, crop thieves pulled up her young okra and cassava as well. “See all them cassava draw out? They take all. I came in the other evening — everything gone. They don’t leave a thing.”
This comes just a week after Barbados TODAY reported another case of theft in the same community.
Garnes said the issue of theft has been ongoing since she began farming in the area.
“From the time I started farming in Spencer’s, I have been going through this. Right across there, I had half an acre of watermelon. Gone. Quarter acre of cucumber. Gone. Tomatoes. Gone.”
Despite repeated setbacks, she has refused to give up, replanting every time — even as the costs of water, rent, and loan repayments mount.
“This is what I depend on (financially). I have a big water bill. I have the land to pay for. I owe Barbados Trust Fund. This is my only source of income,” she said.
Garnes said she was especially heartbroken by the loss of her cantaloupe crop, planted with seedlings purchased from the state-owned Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) on credit. On Monday of last week, she picked 30 pounds of fruit to test for ripeness and had already begun coordinating with BADMC and other outlets to sell the produce.
“I get up here Wednesday morning to come and harvest — they are gone with all,” she said. “Somebody had to be eyeballing this. You can’t just look in here and know cantaloupes ready. When you come with the intention to clear a few bills, to ease the pressure, and you find vines staring back at you — what do you do?”
The theft is not only financial. It is physical and emotional devastation for Garnes.
“I suffer with high blood pressure. Look at my knees — see the size of how it is swollen. But I still continue to do what I am doing. Sometimes I have to walk with a crutch stick because my knee swollen so big and I still come here and work. I plant every hole myself. Weed. Spray. Fertilise. My one. With a spray can on my back.”
Holding back tears, she added, “How am I supposed to survive? What am I supposed to use to pay BADMC or the trust loan fund? Every time you start over, you’re not starting over for yourself. You’re starting over for the thieves.”
Garnes believes the theft was deliberate and targeted. Usually, farmers allow grass to slightly cover the area where they are growing cucurbit crops such as watermelon and cantaloupe when the crops reach maturity and start to bear fruit. She is sure the culprits were versed in farming techniques and were monitoring her crops.
“Somebody watching me,” she said firmly. “If you stand up here, you cannot know the cantaloupe in there. It had to be someone who knew what I had planted and when it was coming to maturity. Somebody that knew what day I was going to reap.”
Garnes added that based on the quantity of cantaloupe she planted, a single person could not harvest alone. She believes it was at least two people with a truck or other heavy-duty vehicle.
The farmer reported the latest theft to police at Oistins. She has yet to receive a follow-up call, she said. She added that she is yet to tally her losses but estimates that it equates to several thousand dollars.
“The officer said he would send off the report and they would get back to me. So I waiting. I frustrated. I tired. I don’t know what else to do,” she said.
“I don’t have nobody giving me another dollar. This is where I get my livelihood from. If I can’t receive what I put in the ground, it makes no sense.”
Garnes also raised alarm about the systemic nature of the problem and its potential ties to the informal market.
She noted if the thieves “don’t have somebody buying it, they cannot reap it“. “Somebody buying it. Somebody encouraging this foolishness.”
Crop and livestock theft, also known as praedial larceny, remains one of the biggest problems facing farmers despite the government signalling interest in new technology, stiffer penalties, and licensing systems.
Garnes said: “If we supposed to feed ourselves, feed the nation, and you plant and somebody reaps — how will it go? What is going to happen?”
She appealed to the government for help:
“Come and help us. Come and help us,” she pleaded. “Because we can’t take any more.”
Other farmers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also said they were hit by thieves, with most of their quarter-acre of watermelons taken.
“Only one government-installed camera is on site and the quality is not good enough that you can see who is who from long distances. There needs to be more cameras,” one farmer said.
Another added: “Police suggest farmers should ‘stay in the field’ to protect their crops. This is dangerous due to reports of armed thieves with trucks and guns.
“Other government-leased projects like the Pine Basin have ‘Farmers Only/No Trespassing’ signs. Spencer’s has no such signage, leaving the area vulnerable to unauthorised entry. We would like a big sign put up with a firm warning.”
When contacted, Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir refused to comment.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
The post Another big loss, another appeal for help for Spencer’s farmers appeared first on Barbados Today.
