The theft of hundreds of pounds of sweet potatoes from his fields on the eve of his negotiating a major contract for their sale has left a Barbadian farmer fuming.
Managing director of ARMAG Farms, Richard Armstrong, was yesterday throwing up his arms in despair after discovering thieves had raided one of his potato fields at Colleton Plantation, St John, on Tuesday night, getting away with over 1 000 pounds of potatoes he had earmarked for his recently established agro-processing business, Sunbury Harvest, which manufactures sweet potato fries.
His voice almost breaking in frustration, Armstrong complained to the DAILY NATION that he had been repeatedly suffering losses from thieves and felt completely helpless.
“Every night we are losing potatoes and I can get no help from anybody. I cannot even get people to watch the ground for me anymore because people are not prepared to put their life at risk,” he lamented.
The last watchman he had employed to guard the field quit recently after being threatened by thieves while on duty. Armstrong said he had been having difficulty finding a replacement ever since, with people saying they were not prepared to risk their lives at what they regarded as a dangerous job.
