KINGSTON, Jamaica —Opposition spokesman on agriculture and fisheries, JC Hutchinson, says that the proposals made by the minister of agriculture to curb praedial larceny “misses the mark by miles”.
“It is obvious that the minister either misunderstood the concepts, or he is incapable of putting the process on the right path…There is nothing said about fruits, herbs and vegetables. Are pigs, goats and sheep going to have these yellow glowing tags tagged on them?” Hutchinson asked, as he responded to the proposals from minister of agriculture and fisheries, Roger Clarke, in the sectoral debate on Wednesday.
Hutchinson said that the minister’s programme had no relevance to curbing praedial larceny, and suggested that he scrap the idea of setting up a praedial larceny unit in the ministry.
“Praedial larceny is a police matter. Provided that money earmarked for the unit to purchase trail bikes for investigators to investigate the end users of agricultural products,” he told the House.
Hutchinson suggested that Clarke read the report from the House of Representatives’ Economy and Production Committee, outlining their recommendations for curbing praedial larceny.
“These persons on the committee understood the vision in curbing this menace. They are able to share the vision which the minister is missing,” he said.
