Barbados’ farmers are under siege. Not from hurricanes or drought, but from an increasingly brazen wave of praedial larceny that threatens not just their livelihoods but food security.
Crop theft is not new, but the scale, frequency and sheer audacity of the attacks are, understandably, at a breaking point. What many are now experiencing is not petty theft. It is targeted, organised, and systematic.
The recent ordeal of Christ Church farmer Veronica Garnes, whose entire cantaloupe crop was stolen days before harvest, is tragic.
Garnes, like many of her colleagues, is now questioning how much longer she can endure the emotional, physical and financial toll of starting over after each theft. The sleepless nights, the painful labour on bad knees, the mounting debt are not the struggles of a failed farmer, but of a failed system.
If we are serious about food security, then protecting our food producers must be a national priority. That means meaningful enforcement of the Protection of Agricultural Products Act, which introduced harsher penalties for crop theft, with fines up to $100 000 and potential prison terms; functioning traceability mechanisms; proper signage and fencing on government-leased lands; and, above all, respect for the people who feed the nation.
The frustration expressed by Barbados Agricultural Society’s Fruit and Vegetable Division president, Peter Alleyne, is entirely justified. He told this media house on Wednesday that if urgent action is not taken to protect farmers from the relentless wave of theft, they are prepared to take to the streets in protest.
The wider public should take note: this is not just a farmer’s problem. This is a national problem. If farmers stop planting, who will we turn to when supply chains fail and import costs rise? If farmers abandon the land, Barbados becomes even more reliant on imported food—a dangerous position in a volatile global economy. The COVID-19 pandemic and international shipping crises should have taught us the value of self-reliance. And yet, here we are, talking about food security while failing to secure those who produce our food.
Praedial larceny is more than theft. It is an attack on the backbone of rural life and a betrayal of national food independence.
Authorities must fast-track the implementation of the produce traceability system, provide more visible and proactive policing in known trouble spots, invest in better surveillance, and introduce compensation schemes or insurance support for victims of praedial larceny. Strict regulation of the informal produce market is also essential. Buyers who knowingly purchase stolen goods are accessories to the crime and should be treated as such.
The labour of the farmers of Barbados is not only an economic contribution; it is a service to the nation. If we allow them to suffer in silence, we all will pay the price.
The post Farmers are on the edge appeared first on Barbados Today.