There was no need to create a new piece of legislation to offer farmers better protection against praedial larceny, says chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society (BAS) James Paul.
Reacting to the Parliamentary debate on the Protection of Agricultural Products Bill, 2022, which took place in the House of Assembly on Tuesday, Paul said the new bill was not necessary and the lengthy time it was taking for the legislation to be passed kept the farming community in a state of limbo.
“I don’t see the need for a makeover. Every Government keeps on talking about a new bill, when really in truth and in fact all you need to do is make amendments to the existing legislation to bolster what is there. But every time you have to go back there, it puts people on pause, waiting, which doesn’t make sense,” he said.
In 2017, the previous administration sought to make legislative changes to the Praedial Larceny Prevention Act and brought the Protection of Agricultural Products and Livestock Bill, 2017 which was intended to replace it. However, that bill was never proclaimed.
In 2018, the newly-elected Barbados Labour Party Government promised to address the shortcomings of the 2017 bill and in June 2019 stakeholder consultations were held to get the input of the farming community.
Paul said that at the core of the praedial larceny issue was a lack of enforcement, and thus, that aspect of the current legislation just needed an amendment.
“The real issue is enforcement. Even if you bring that bill tomorrow if you don’t enforce it, you are back at square one. . . It is not that the existing legislation is woefully deficient, it is really not. What we need to do is two things.
“First, if there are areas in the existing legislation that need to be modified, just make the amendments. Secondly, in large measure, there are too many complaints of the lack of enforcement. Are the regulatory authorities provided with enough resources to enforce the bill?
“Also, we need to ensure that the trials are handled in an expeditious manner so that justice is quickly dispensed to persons who have been caught stealing.”
The BAS boss added that people who bought stolen goods were just as guilty as those who were caught stealing and thus, should feel the full weight of the law as well.
Under the new Protection of Agricultural Products Bill, 2022, people caught stealing could be fined $100 000 or face five years in prison.
In the previous bill, the maximum fine was $5 000.
During a national address in April 2022, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced that a Praedial Larceny Unit was to be established in the then Royal Barbados Police Force (RBPF), now the Barbados Police Service.
She said that the Attorney General had “agreed to issue instructions” to the RBPF to establish the dedicated unit.
sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb
