By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

New Providence farmers were yesterday said to be “totally depressed” by the rampant theft of livestock and goods from their properties, which has increased in frequency since Hurricane Matthew.

Caron Shepherd, president of the newly-formed Farmers United Association (FUA), which has around 60-100 members, told Tribune Business that farmers unable to repair their properties are “getting hit left, right and centre” by unscrupulous thieves.

She explained that with fencing, cages and farmhouses all damaged by Matthew’s Category Three winds and storm surge, thieves had easy access to farm properties - especially at night when farmers were not present.

“That is a big problem,” M Shepherd said of increasing agricultural theft. “We have a farmer whose piggery they robbed last Wednesday, and the following day, Thursday, they came back and robbed the piggery again.

“What happened is that when the news came out about the contaminated feed (see other article on Page 1B), those people took delight in going on to those farms we have to steal the pigs, goats and sheep for meat.”

Ms Shepherd said it was unclear whether the thieves were subsequently slaughtering these animals, or taking them to a rogue slaughterhouse operator, but argued that the situation emphasised why farmers needed government financial assistance to help secure their properties.

“We need to close the farms back in,” she told Tribune Business. “The farmer who had the pigs actually had a fence, but they cut the wire and stole the pigs.

“The pilferage is totally depressing. Every farmer is getting hit left, right and centre. Those farmers not living on their farm have it the worst, because people are watching them and, when they leave, all kinds of things are being stolen. Whatever farmers have left, people are coming and stealing. It’s really, really sad.”

The FUA, in making its case for $60 million worth of government financial assistance, so that its members can recover from the “double whammy” of Hurricane Matthew and livestock deaths, described the increasing theft trend as “despicable”.

In a March 27, 2017, letter to V. Alfred Gray, minister of agriculture and marine resources, the FUA, whose members are based mainly in the Cowpen Road area, accused the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) of being indifferent to the problem.

The Association wrote: “Another problematic and extremely troublesome matter is stealing of farmers’ animals because farmers are not able to be in two places at the same time. This is heart-wrenching.

“Minister, pilferage of goods from the farms is despicable and a total annoyance. When reported to the police it is taken lightly, and the police do not show up in some cases. Farmers’ goods are being stolen on a daily basis, and there is no recourse for the animals or corps.”

Ms Shepherd said that in response to the FUA’s financial assistance request, Mr Gray had expressed concern that not all farmers were “real” - meaning that some who had leased Crown and government land for agricultural purposes were abusing the privilege, and instead using it for alternative activities.

In response, Ms Shepherd acknowledged that there were “some bad apples” giving Bahamian farmers a bad name, but argued that the majority - including the FUA’s members - were serious about growing their businesses and Bahamian agriculture to the point where it could supply the hotel and restaurant industry’s needs.

“Mr Gray’s saying there are not that many ‘real farmers’, and nobody’s sure who they are,” she told Tribune Business. “I understand what he’s saying. According to the list he has, there should be 500 people farming. We said: ‘Give us the list and we’ll see who farms’.

“We have some bad apples. We do have persons who have land and do not farm, or may have one banana tree way down in the back. We understand that persons will take advantage of the situation, but we have genuine farmers that want to move to the next level, and produce crops and livestock to support the market, and provide to the hotels and resorts.

“We used to do it before, and there’s no reason why we can’t do it now. I’m fighting for those who are farming and want to move to another level. We’re talking about people who are seriously interested in farming, and who are farming.”

Many observers believe that the misuse of land supposedly leased for agricultural purposes is primarily due to the Government’s failure to do follow-up checks, and enforce the law and contractual lease terms.

The FUA, addressing the issue in its letter to Mr Gray, wrote: “While we completely understand there are a few bad apples in the bunch, we have endeavoured to ensure that accountability be put in place for the use of the [$60 million] funds.

“Your Ministry knows who these persons are and they know who the workers are. They know who will use the funds wisely and who will squander the funds.”

Ms Shepherd said Bahamian farmers “just need a little hand up” when it comes to financial assistance, and added: “These are real stories. These are things that are happening. The farmers are hurting, but they want to be able to do what they need to do.

“Farmers here are producing pure organic eggs. We want to supply the market, but we have a greater demand than we can supply. It’s not that we can’t do it; we can. They just need the help to be able to do it.”