Sitting on 216 acres, Knockalva Agricultural School has enough land space for its projects. However, crop security is proving a problem for the post-secondary boarding institution located in Ramble, Hanover.

“We are really, really struggling in terms of perimeter fencing,” Principal Davia Ramgeet-Robinson told the

Jamaica Observer. “That remains a challenge with praedial larceny. We have production here, but then we have a major loss, so that’s not good, and the fact is that it’s a practical training facility.”

The principal explained that the nature of the school requires the students to engage in practical demonstrations, therefore the theft of equipment and crops is painfully hindering these efforts.

Ramgeet-Robinson, who has been principal since September last year, indicated that her first few months were incident free. But the new year brought an end to that.

“Since January 2017, I’ve had major hits, about three different times. In terms of leafy vegetables, such as cabbage, we lost 72 heads one night. We also lost our defeathering machine, which costs on average about $110,000 and it was one that defeathers six (chickens) at a time. That’s a major blow to us,” she said.

“It is difficult for this slaughtering period, and I don’t know how they manage plucking the chickens now, because it is a slower process, so a batch will be, on average, 600 to 800 (chickens), so imagine the cycle,” she added.

The St James native said that the loss of the machine and vegetables also severely affected the school’s ability to supply meals on the campus, feed the animals, as well as sell to other schools to help cover costs.

“So what we do here in the tutorial section feeds the school somewhat, but you know we have to feed the animals and the cost of feed is very high and there is no return on it if it’s being used in subsistence. So what we are doing is partnering with schools in and around this vicinity,” Ramgeet-Robinson explained.

“So when we are slaughtering, we’ll call up, say Anchovy (High) and say ‘can you buy some chickens from us?’ So our neighbouring schools will assist in that regard and we give them very baseline prices,” the principal said.

She explained that the school has been partnering with the police force’s Praedial Larceny Unit, and so later this month there will be a training and sensitisation workshop for the staff.

“But the truth of the matter, there is so much more that can be done by us, because the police, even though I would love to believe they are proactive, most of the time they can only be reactive and we need to control our resources and assets,” Ramgeet-Robinson stated.

She noted that despite being challenged by funds, as well as sheer size, the school is looking into how it can best move forward to secure the property.

— Javene Skyers