Hugh Martin
IT IS that time of year again when the bureaucratic machinery seems to come awake and to resume some tasks that it had laid down about the middle of March the previous year. I was led to this conclusion by a press release I received last week from the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) expressing delight that the Cabinet have "approved the submission made by the Ministry of Agriculture for the awarding of the contract for the printing of 100,000 receipt books for the sum of $22m".
The receipt book in question, for those who don't know or have forgotten, is the main weapon to be used in the fight against praedial larceny or farm theft in what the JAS believes to be the best programme designed so far to combat what it describes as the greatest disincentive to investment in the agricultural sector. The programme was conceived and designed more than a decade ago and has had the support of the Government from the beginning. Almost four years ago at the JAS's annual conference (July 2002) the Prime Minister himself gave his assurance that the required legislation would be enacted to get the programme, entitled 'The Agricultural Produce Amendment Bill' up and running without further delay. But six months later this has not yet happened and The Gleaner in its editorial of January 9, 2003 had this to say:
ENACTING OF LEGISLATION
"What is of concern ... is the delay in enacting of legislation to establish the use of receipt books in all farm produce transactions. This is important because the success of the programme hangs on the possession by farm produce traders of a valid receipt when stopped by the police. We were made to believe that such legislation would have been passed by November of last year. It has not yet happened and this must be an embarrassment to the Prime Minister who committed himself to the programme at that JAS meeting in July."
TO-ING AND FRO-ING
The legislation was finally enacted in 2005 after much to-ing and fro-ing between committee and both houses of Parliament. But after this not much was or could be achieved as it required the registration of all farmers and that have not yet been completed. The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) was charged with this responsibility. I am told that the registration process has now been completed and that most of the 90,000 farmers registered have so far been verified as bona fide farmers and assigned special numbers.
With the contract for printing the books now approved by Cabinet, the JAS is in a position to expedite its production and distribution to all the registered farmers. This is what will be used as evidence of transaction between the farmer and the produce dealer or other buyer whenever the police intercepts them on the road and asks for the source of the goods. The local police station will have access to a computerised database of registered farmers received from the RADA office and will use this information to verify the receipts presented to them.
The Government has finally completed its part even if it has taken much too long to do so. It had previously provided a cadre of police officers from both the Island and Special Constabulary Forces to administer the programme islandwide. Occasional, reports of interception of vehicles carrying stolen farm produce suggest that they have not been idle while awaiting the official start of the programme. It is now up to the JAS to pick up the baton and run with it. They cannot drop it now for if they do they must forever hold their tongue and let the matter of farm theft be dealt with like any other crime.
Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster at email: humar@cwjamaica.com.
