No curried goat for me - at least not for the rest of this year. I am staging a one-man protest in solidarity with the young Portmore goat farmer who was raided by thieves on two recent occasions. One could sense his anxiety as he recounted how he went to his farm earlier than usual, surprised the thieves and had to run for his life, for not only were they robbing him of his goats and chickens, they were prepared to take his life. His pain was laid bare before the nation. This is a young man who rouses himself from bed each morning at 4.30 to tend to his livestock in an attempt to eke out a living. He is ambitious and hardworking. The country needs his kind of industry.

To make bad worse, he said the police did not respond to his pleas for help. Once again, issues of police response and vigilance are called into question. Once again, the image of the Jamaica Constabulary Force, as an institution committed to protecting life and property, has been shattered. Who drives around with 20 goats and several chickens at 3 a.m.? Quick action by the police may have resulted in an arrest. Is it any wonder that people in several rural parishes have taken to dispensing their own brand of justice in such matters?

Praedial thieves

Obviously, there are many persons benefiting from such plunder. It is estimated that farmers throughout Jamaica lose some $5 billion annually to praedial thieves, that's a quarter of what they produce in total. First, there are the thieves who, under the cover of dark, invade farms and steal agricultural produce and livestock. They know that a lucrative market exists for their loot and they have no problem finding willing buyers. A butcher usually knows when he is dealing with a livestock thief. So the stuff finds its way into a butcher's stall, or a grocery shop and eventually to the plate in our homes and restaurants.

For decades, successive administrations have been agonising over praedial larceny. Numerous campaigns have been launched to educate the public, monitor farmers and market activities. Laws have been passed, robust speeches have been made by politicians and farmers, but praedial larceny continues with some farmers experiencing multiple thefts. Earlier this year Agriculture Minister Chris Tufton called for a multisectoral approach to the problem. Essentially, praedial larceny is a law enforcement issue. But the security problem seems to get more intractable by the day. Schools are overwhelmed, businesses are targets and we seem to move from one crisis to the other.

Anti-theft unit

Large farmers are now spending thousands of dollars on security systems which only adds to their cost and ultimately to the consumer's price. Few small farmers can put their hands on additional resources to enhance their security. Has the time come for the Government to establish an anti-theft agricultural unit, putting to work some of the thousands of idle hands in this country? We now have a missing children alert system and perhaps we should also consider an agricultural-alert system designed to put police, merchants and consumers on the alert about farm thefts. I would also suggest that farmers take photographs of their cattle so that in the event of theft the police can have reliable descriptions with which to work.

More seriously though, farm thieves should be punished to the full extent of the law, and since I am one of those who support whipping I would suggest a public whipping in the parish square for the guilty.

Spurred by the economic downturn, one can expect an increase in agricultural theft by highly armed and dangerous men who appear to be well organised. This is a great disincentive to the more than 200,000 people who make their livelihood conducting back-breaking work on their farms. This is a priority matter and if the police cannot help vigilante justice could become even more common.

Dennie Quill is a veteran journalist. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com