By Grace-Anne King on Tuesday, 15 March, 2022 at 06:47 PM

In March, the Barbados Government hopes to create the necessary legislation to protect local farmers from praedial larceny.

Speaking with the Commissioner of Police Richard Boyce, the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Nutritional Security, Indar Weir said that they were looking at initiatives to help counter the theft of produce and animals. This would include geofencing, high-powered drones, and the creation of a praedial larceny unit.

Licensed farmer Maxine Boyce, who has been a victim of praedial larceny commends the government for planning to put better measures into place to protect farmers.

“One of my billies [goats] was stolen and no one knew who stole it and it was close to $500 that I lost. Sadly, I could not go to the police and report it either, because there were no witnesses,” Boyce lamented.

Boyce went on to mention that even if she had reported the missing goat to the authorities and they had caught the perpetrator, the consequences would have just been a “slap on the wrist”.

Sherry-Ann and Wycliffe Theoblads were also victims of praedial larceny and were robbed of approximately $1,500 worth of birds and eggs.

“The man was arrested for theft however, he was also responsible for a string of burglaries in the neighborhood. So that could be the main reason that he went up Dodds,” the couple said.

Kyle Borrow, a framer of seven years believes that the government should not only focus on praedial larceny but also create initiatives to protect crops from monkeys.

“I lost a lot of crops to monkeys before, so I got some dogs to help deter them from eating my crops,” Borrow concluded.