This country’s farming community wants the authorities to implement much tougher measures to combat crop theft including using the defence force in surveillance of farms and imposing much stiffer penalties on the thieves.
Farmer Richard Armstrong and CEO of the Barbados Agricultural Society, James Paul, addressed the issue on the Down to Brasstacks call-in program.
They feel the plight of farmers is not being taken seriously enough and that even when crop thieves are caught they are let off easily by the judicial system.
The discussion was triggered by a recent incident where two alleged crop thieves were shot dead on a St. Philip farm.
Mr. Armstrong believes the Defence Force should be deployed here as has been done in Jamaica.
Farmer Richard Armstrong.