• Industry drafting stiffer penalties as deterrent

• Suffer ‘constant battle’ to protect livelihoods

• Firearm permission sought to protect assets

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

Farmers yesterday revealed they are developing legal reforms to crack down on “the culture of theft” that is costing some “up to 50-60 percent of their crop in one night” and devastating the industry.

Paul Maillis, the National Fisheries Association (NFA) director, whose family owns a mango farm in the Adelaide area, told Tribune Business that farmers were partnering to propose a Farmer Protection and Encouragement Act that will contain much harsher punishments than those found in existing laws in a bid to determine rampant stealing of crops and livestock.

Speaking from that farm, he revealed that Bahamian farmers throughout the archipelago face “a constant battle” to protect their produce as increasingly bold thieves simply drive and saunter on to their properties to plunder at will.

With the criminals usually long departed by the time the police arrive, Mr Maillis warned that The Bahamas will “never accomplish the dream of a people more empowered in their own livelihoods if we turn a blind eye and treat criminals with a soft hand”.

With small farmers, in particular, living crop-to-crop and reliant on every growing season for cash flow to sustain their enterprises, the regular thefts are threatening to drive some out of business and into hardship, while also discouraging new entrepreneurs from entering the industry.

And, when viewed from the ‘bigger picture’ perspective, the situation detailed by Mr Maillis and others threatens to undermine the ambition of Michael Pintard, minister of agriculture and marine resources, to slash The Bahamas’ annual $1bn food import bill by at least $200m via encouraging greater domestic production and substitution. The post-COVID goal of improved food security is also being endangered.

Describing the situation faced by himself and his family, Mr Maillis said thieves were able to use the surrounding forest area to enter and exit their farm, pillaging the mango orchard at will. “On a daily basis we have to constantly worry about thieves,” he told Tribune Business. “We have to lock our gates, we have to set patrols, we have to monitor the farm constantly throughout the day.

“Our family members take turns watching the orchard. People are very bold. Some drive on to the property, come through the gate and come through the fence, and take as many mangos as they want. Where there’s a will there’s a way. You cannot fence the entire property. Once they’ve loaded up with mangos, you cannot stop them leaving, and by the time you call the police and they arrive, the thieves are gone.

“We’ve made pleas and tried to get people arrested, but because it’s such a minor offence it’s difficult to take it further or get the police to take it seriously. One of the conditions is that the theft must be over a certain value, and if it doesn’t get over that then the offence is treated as minimal,” Mr Maillis added.

“It’s a challenge for us. It’s a constant battle. We lose about one-quarter of our crop to theft, and we have a substantial crop. Couple that with hurricanes, other natural disasters and frequent wind storms, we have already lost a substantial portion of our crop and then have to deal with the human element. Our mangos are known around the country, and people take advantage of us. It’s disheartening.”

Mr Maillis estimated that 30-40 percent of mango crops were lost to such factors prior to theft, which he added had “spiralled out of control” with persons taking entire trees “out of the ground” or stripping them entirely of their fruits.

To combat the problem, he revealed that a group of farmers are working on a draft Farmer Protection and Encouragement Act that is designed to strengthen the penalties and convictions that the courts can impose on persons found guilty of stealing from them.

A draft discussion paper on the proposed Act describes farms as “unique”when it comes to property protection due to their size, lack of inhabitants and “vulnerability of valuable products”. It added: “The law does not permit the apprehension of a thief using force once the thief has begun to flee the scene of the crime.

“Theft of farm produce is not considered an offence of significance, and the same Penal Code provisions related to monetary value often make farm theft insignificant in the criminal justice system.”

Caron Shepherd, president of the newly-formed Bahamas Agro Entrepreneurs Group, backed Mr Maillis in describing farm theft as an “ongoing problem”. She told Tribune Business: “It has started to escalate because of the fact the farmers are increasing their production, and as a result of that you have an increase in larceny.”

Confirming that the industry is working on the Farmer Protection and Encouragement Act as a means to increase fines and penalties for those found guilty of stealing, Ms Shepherd revealed that a farmer is presently before the courts after being charged with using a BB gun to shoot a person they found “in their chicken cage” at 1am in the morning.

“Most of the male farmers are seeking to have hand guns to be able to protect themselves and their property,” she disclosed. “A month ago a farmer was brought before the courts because they tried to protect their property. As a result of that the farmers have come together to seek permission to have hand guns and shotguns to protect themselves.”

Ms Shepherd said her farm, Down Too Earth Adventure Farm, had suffered the theft of sheep some five months ago but had not reported it to police, adding that stealing was occurring in the Family Islands as well as Nassau. 

“Jamaica, Trinidad, the US and the UK, there are strong penalties for farm theft,” Mr Maillis said, “and we need to make that the case here. Farmers need not to fear when defending their property, crops and livestock.

“We have to make farmers feel confident. This industry is very volatile, and you are subject to a loss at a whim. Farmers can’t afford the increasing cost of electricity, water and every utility that is going up. We cannot afford theft; we have to deter theft.

“My family is more blessed than most; we have land and working capital, so we are able to survive this situation. The vast majority of farmers are very small, and have to depend on each crop to provide cash flow. They’ve been devastated,” he added.

“We’ll never accomplish the dream of a people more involved and empowered in their own livelihood. We’ll never accomplish that if we turn a blind eye and treat criminals with a soft hand. Mangos are not a necessity; they’re a luxury food. People stealing mangos are driven by pure lust and greed as opposed to pure food to sustain themselves.

“It goes to the mentality of Bahamians. They see something they want and believe they have a right to take it. It’s not right. It enhances the cycle of theft, the culture of theft. We have to fight the culture.”

Mr Maillis said the extent of losses due to theft varied according to size of farm and the types of crops/livestock they were involved in. But he added: “Some farmers lose everything in a single night. On large farms the impact of theft is much less, but on smaller farms some can lose 50-60 percent of their crop in one night.”

The issue of farm theft was yesterday raised in the House of Assembly by Frankie Campbell, minister of social security, who called for tougher penalties to be imposed on those found guilty due to the harm it was causing his Southern Shores constituents.

He said: “Farmers in that area, and I’m sure throughout that southwestern area, the minister and member for Marco City would confirm, continue to complain that their hard-earned labour is being stolen from them and while someone seeks just a hand of bananas, but I want you to compare it with another individual’s monthly salary because, in fact, that is what it is.

“When the farmer plants that banana sucker and waits for months and months and waters it, and now there’s bananas and the farmer is counting days before he can reap that banana, but some thief decides ‘I shouldn’t have to work, I shouldn’t have to sweat, Farmer Turnquest, Farmer Kates, Farmer Jones, Farmer Sweeting…. has planted something for me’. It’s wrong, Mr Speaker.”