Agriculture Minister Floyd Green’s well-intentioned but clearly naïve plan to stage a retreat for judges to school them on the seemingly unstoppable harm being done by farm thieves is the latest indication of how desperate the situation is.

For that reason, we urge the judiciary not to be too hard on the minister, if only because all Jamaica, including judges, has a vested interest in his success in finding a solution to a matter that has eluded all his forebears throughout the country’s 60 years of Independence.

Mr Green is reported as saying that his planned retreat would sensitise judges on the harm being done to farmers by praedial larceny — to the tune of $5 billion a year — which he described as the biggest threat facing Jamaica’s agricultural sector, a problem not helped by low fines that do not impress the thieves.

“We want to walk our justices through agriculture and the Agricultural Produce Act so they can appreciate the level of losses our farmers have been experiencing at the hands of criminals,” said Minister Green. “Sometimes having that first-hand knowledge is the best and most effective way of addressing the problem.”

Taking umbrage to the minister’s utterance, the judiciary, through the Court Administration Division (CAD), quickly reminded him about its arms-length relationship with the executive branch of government, emphasising:

“We would like to use this medium to assure the public, and members of the legal profession, that the executive arm of the Government does not determine what type of judicial education is appropriate for judges.

“Further, the judiciary of Jamaica has a Judicial Education Institute that is the sole body responsible for determining the training needs of the judiciary. The independence of the judiciary is a non-negotiable aspect of our democracy and must be guarded zealously,” CAD said.

Of course, the judiciary is right. We are surprised of this seeming oversight by Mr Green, who is himself an attorney-at-law.

Still, it is instructive that he says the fisheries portfolio of his ministry has already done such a retreat with judges, apparently without a word from the judiciary.

However, instead of spooking the judges with ill-thought-out plans, Minister Green would better serve his portfolio by cranking up the Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit which works closely with the Community, Safety and Security branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force to go more aggressively after farm thieves.

He should also be focusing on the National Animal Identification and Traceability System which incorporates information on the identity, ownership, geographical location, and movement activity of stolen animals.

Moreover, the minister must know that the matter of low fines, which he complains about, has to be addressed at the level of the legislature, of which he is a member. Judges have to work with the laws they are given.

It would also suit him to work quietly with the Judicial Education Institute to get the issue on its curriculum.

Finally, Mr Green may also step up public education on praedial larceny prevention, knowing that the thieves are well-supported by members of the public who buy their ill-gotten gains either for resale or consumption.