After joining an overnight patrol with law enforcement and agricultural producers to see the sophistication of farm and livestock theft firsthand, Barbados’ Minister of Agriculture Dr. Shantal Munro-Knight has announced sweeping new measures targeting thieves, vendors who handle stolen produce, and consumers who unknowingly purchase it. The patrol, part of a pilot program launched in March by the Barbados Police Service’s new crop protection unit, took the minister to multiple active farm sites across the country, and left her convinced that decisive, cross-sector action is needed to dismantle the well-organized criminal networks that have plagued the island’s agricultural industry for decades.