Agricultural theft is becoming one of the biggest problems in the La Comunidad Valenciana and the only way to fight it is through technology, The Valencian reports
While the City of Valencia is busy with the surveillance system to control who enters the city centre, a small town in the province of Valencia, Oliva, has a different kind of problem – theft. The Councilor for Agriculture of Oliva, Miquel Doménech, has recently announced that the four surveillance cameras provided for agricultural areas in the municipality are already installed and operational.
These are cameras that, according to the Mayor, will allow greater control over the various areas and help to curb the rising problem of theft in the Municipality. The cameras can read licence plates and are connected to the local police station. In addition to protecting Oliva from theft, they will also be useful in the event of fires or any other incident in the field.
Agricultural theft is a major problem throughout Europe, particularly in Spain. Almost 40 agricultural robberies per day were reported before the pandemic, and this number has recently dropped to 26 per day due to restricted movement. The thieves are very daring, and they often use tracks and agricultural machinery. A recent case in which 60 tonnes of oranges were stolen overnight from a farm in Castellon shows how fast they operate. They also steal livestock very often. There is no preference, everything that has value and is not well protected becomes a target.
Oliva’s move is likely to be followed very soon by other municipalities in Valencia, because our Comunidad has the second-highest number of thefts in all of Spain, after Andalusia, and the damage to the agricultural sector is enormous.
© Oliva Installs Security Cameras In Agricultural Areas To Prevent Theft – TheValencian