GRANT. assets earned from praedial larceny should be treated the same way as assets from drugs and other organised crimes

THE Jamaica Agriculture Society (JAS) has proposed that assets earned through praedial larceny be included in the Proceeds of Crime Act now before Parliament.

"Assets earned from praedial larceny should be treated in the same way that assets from drugs and other organised crimes are treated," Senator Norman Grant, the president of the JAS, told the Observer yesterday.

The Act, which addresses several limitations in the Drug Offences (Forfeiture of Proceeds) Act, is being considered to deal specifically with organised crime and gives the state authority to deprive persons of all properties and accumulated wealth which cannot be explained by legitimate activity. It seeks to ensure that persons engaged in criminal activities do not profit from them.

Grant said he had already written to the national security minister, Peter Phillips, recommending that the agriculture sector be protected under the proposed Act.

He added that losses to the agriculture sector, through well-orchestrated larceny, runs into millions of dollars per year. He said livestock farmers, for instance, have lost in excess of $150 million to thieves since the start of the year.

The JAS president said that in recent weeks a farmer lost 40 head of cattle from his 100-head herd, while another farmer recently lost 32 head of cattle in one night.

In the meantime, the JAS president said that the newly implemented receipt book system, designed to leave a paper trail of the movement of agriculture produce, was having success in all parishes, except St Elizabeth.

"It is ironic to note that while the implementation of the receipt book system is having a positive impact on the other parishes, in St Elizabeth it is not as effective as there is a high level of resistance," Grant told the Observer.
He claimed that there were highly influential people in the parish who were actively campaigning against the use of the receipt books.

"We have 100,000 books to be distributed to the farmers. This is not something we have dreamed up; it is a system that is used in many countries worldwide," Grant added.

"Since we have implemented the book system we find that more farmers are coming forward to report theft to the police. It is not something that will stop overnight, but we are laying the foundation now," he said.

Farmers, he said, should resist the temptation to influence other farmers not to purchase the receipt books as the system would not only help to deter thieves but would also assist the police in apprehending praedial thieves.

To improve acceptance of the receipt book system islandwide, Grant said that the JAS, in association with the Island Special Constabulary Force (ISCF), has convened a series of road shows for farmers starting this Thursday at Top Hill in St Elizabeth.

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