There should be some much needed relief for farmers as far as crop theft is concerned soon.
Minister of Agriculture Dr David Estwick said he expects there to be “progression in praedial larceny soon”.
He made the disclosure at the annual general meeting of the Barbados Agricultural Society at Raddison Aquatica today.
Estwick said the SelectaDNA, which will soon be in use by the Royal Barbados Police Force to help track criminals, will work “very, very, very well”.
The advanced forensic marking system is in gel form, if an object bearing the mark is stolen the gel is transferred to the thief. If caught, police will be able to tie the thief to a particular crop.
Estwick tests are currently being carried out to see how best it can be administered.
“We are confident that if that is introduced and at the right cost that can be used on a mass scale, it will significantly reduce praedial larceny,” he said, adding that while it will not cure everything there are looking at traceability. (YB)
