Agriculture Ministry Moving to Implement Recommendations of Praedial Larceny Committee

The National Advisory Committee on Praedial Larceny has completed its report and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is moving to implement its recommendations.
“A team involving representatives of the Agriculture Ministry, the Ministry of National Security, the police and the Attorney General’s Office, is formulating a concrete plan of action to improve enforcement and to sensitise the judiciary regarding the seriousness of praedial larceny,” said Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. J. C. Hutchinson, in his contribution to the 2009/10 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (July 15).
He said that the committee confirmed that one of the best approaches to tackling praedial larceny is the implementation of a traceability system that tracks the movement of animals and produce from farm to fork.
A $29 million contract has been signed with ADT project Gmbh from Germany, to commence work on an Animal Identification System, which will facilitate such a traceability system.
“At the end of this contract, we will have a system that can identify and register all livestock in Jamaica, as well as provide a computerised database inclusive of passports and tags, which will be able to trace animals from birth to slaughter,” Mr. Hutchinson said.
This database will also have the capacity to store and generate vital information on domestic animals.