Praedial Larceny Unit To Be Strengthened This Year

Minister of State in the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Floyd Green, says the Praedial Larceny Unit in the Ministry will be strengthened this year.

Mr. Green was addressing the official launch of the 65th staging of the Hague Agricultural and Industrial Show on Wednesday (January 22) at the Hague Showground in Trelawny.

“This is one of our priorities for 2020 – to provide more support for our Praedial Larceny Unit. We are now looking to see how we can bring in at least 30 district constables to be put across the island to focus solely on praedial larceny,” the State Minister said.

“We are also looking to get 10 motor vehicles for the unit, as part of the challenge is when the thieves come in, the response time from the authorities is a problem,” Mr. Green added.

He noted that farming communities will be the first to benefit until the Unit has the full capacity to zone in on communities islandwide.

The State Minister further outlined that the Government is looking to bolster the internal support of the Unit as well as to forge a better partnership with the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

“You are going to see this year that we are really zoning in on strengthening the capacity, so that when you go out to farm, you can do so in peace,” Mr. Green emphasised.

The Hague Agricultural and Industrial Show will be held on February 26 at the Showground in the parish. It is set to attract farmers, agri-processors, manufacturers and patrons.

On February 25, organisers of the show will stage a Youth Expo, which will showcase the work of young farmers in the sector.

The annual show is organised by the Trelawny Association of Branch Societies (TABS), and will be held under the theme ‘Agricultural Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Change’.