A farmer told of rampant theft putting agriculture in peril after roughly 600 pounds of carrots were stolen from his farm.

Daniel Renaud, of DR Farms, said thieves made off with a dozen 50-pound sacks of fresh carrots between last night and this morning.

Mr Renaud said: “Those were supposed to be harvested between this weekend and Christmas for the grocery stores — this has lost us between $1,000 and $1,500.”

Losses to farm theft average $300 to $400 a week, he said — an increasingly common drain on his business over his ten years as a full-time farmer.

Mr Renaud explained: “The issue has gotten progressively out of control. It doesn’t seem like the powers that be are taking this seriously enough to do anything about it.”

He added: “At the end of the day, if people asked farmers for two or four carrots for your families, any of us would be more than willing to give it to you.

“But when you steal that amount, you’re not just supporting your family. You’re supporting a habit.”

Mr Renaud claimed that a fellow farmer had recently been treated at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital after being assaulted by two men whom he caught stealing crops.

He said: “Last week, I had pumpkins stolen, so it’s daily for all of us. The thing is, police need to look at it as a serious issue.”

Mr Renaud highlighted the daily problems already confronting farmers, including rats, chickens and unpredictable weather.

He said: “As things go on, it feels like we’re being pushed out of business … I would say we have ten more years before it’s all over for Bermuda, if there’s not a changing point very soon.”

He said the community could benefit from a better understanding of agriculture.

“People would come by and ask ‘where’s the beans, where’s this, where’s that’, not understanding that those crops take three to four months to grow.

“We had a hurricane in October and we’re only in December. It hasn’t even been three months.”

A spokesman for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources said: “This theft is especially devastating as many of Mr Renaud’s early carrots were destroyed by Hurricane Melissa earlier in the season.

“With no crop to sell, farmers face mounting production costs, including wages, supplies, seed and fertilisers, without the income needed to sustain their operations.”

He added that the department was working with the Board of Agriculture and Bermuda Farmers Association “to strengthen ties with the Bermuda Police Service and the public to encourage reporting and support potential prosecutions”.

He added: “This collaborative approach aims to deter theft and protect Bermuda’s farming community.

“The department is working closely with the Board of Agriculture to create a new online reporting system for crop theft that will also permit anonymous reporting by members of the public who do not wish to be identified.”

He reminded the community that buying stolen goods is an offence, urging people not to purchase fresh carrots from individuals not known to be commercial farmers. Any suspect attempts to sell the vegetables should be reported to police.

Suspicious night-time activities in fields, particularly by those who do not appear to be regular farm staff, should also be reported.

Incidents can be reported, including photographs or footage, via portal.police.bm/report or by calling 211.

The spokesman concluded: “Produce theft is a serious crime that undermines the livelihoods of our farmers and threatens Bermuda’s food security.

“We call on the public to stand with our farmers by reporting suspicious activity and refusing to purchase stolen goods.”

The Royal Gazette has reached out to police about the crop theft and alleged assault.