Senator proposes insurance scheme for farmers

An independent Senator has recommended the establishment of a crop and livestock insurance programme to help farmers as they face the threats of praedial larceny and climate change.

Speaking during debate in the Upper House on the Protection of Agricultural Products Bill, 2022, which seeks to put an end to praedial larceny, Senator Dr Chelston Brathwaite stressed that this type of theft was not an agricultural problem but a societal problem.

He insisted that the legislation was needed but suggested more could be done for farmers.

“I . . . hope that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security will investigate the possibility of providing a crop and livestock insurance programme to protect farmers against praedial larceny and other risks, especially the risks associated with climate change,” said Dr Brathwaite, a former Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

He further expressed the hope that in the implementation of the provisions of the legislation, law enforcement officials and the justice system act in the best interest of farmers.

“First of all, I hope that the security forces, the law courts, the Barbados Police Force, the Barbados Defence Force will give priority attention to the protection of farmers and farmers’ produce by the enforcement of this legislation. I hope that the Barbados justice system will examine the possibility of a victim support mechanism and restitution where farmers are adequately compensated for their losses.

“I hope that this Bill will be brought to the attention of the public to ensure that there is more public awareness of the problem and that we see public support for the measures proposed…,” he added.

During his contribution to the debate, Dr Brathwaite also lauded the Government for its efforts to strengthen the agricultural sector, saying that its support is critical for Barbados to move toward becoming food secure.

“Efficient legislation in areas such as food imports, praedial larceny and land use policy is critically important to improving the agricultural sector. I have stated in this chamber before and I wish to state it again that the efforts that are being made by the Mia Mottley administration are critical building blocks for a nation that has the potential to be food secure.

“In fact, I have stated before that the efforts that are being made from a political point of view are some of the most significant that have been made in the last 80 years in this country…,” the Senator maintained.

“Today, I rise to support this Bill because it represents, in my view, one of the building blocks that is fundamental to the success which we are hoping to achieve. We are hoping to achieve a reduction in the food import bill, we are hoping to achieve the production of fresh, nutritious food for the population that can help to reduce the incidence of chronic non-communicable diseases. We are hoping to achieve the development of agribusiness enterprises that can, in fact, promote employment opportunities and help to diversify the Barbadian economy. We are hoping to produce foods based on agro-processing that can reduce the significant amount of processed foods that we import. We are hoping to generate the production of food and a local economy closer to the marketplace rather than importing the food from abroad for our people and for tourists.”