Farmers in different parts of Europe have shown their opinion since the beginning of the year. Tractors have been used to block highways in France, for example, and in Berlin the Brandenburg Gate was taken over.
The fiery speeches of agricultural producers have been sharp. The price of diesel needs to be lowered and the profitability of farming fixed. The exhaust gases of the cities have been mixed with an additional flavor from the countryside, when tractor loads of manure have been dumped on the side of the street.
It is hoped that the booming of megaphones and the smell of manure will affect the senses of government ministers and administrative bureaucrats. Some of the goals have been achieved, but the relationship between farmers and governments is not what it used to be.
In addition to France and Germany, farmers’ feelings have also boiled over in Poland, Romania, Belgium and Spain, among others.
The price of diesel is going down
There are several reasons for the tightening of agricultural producers, but many of the reasons go back to the fact that Russia attacked Ukraine two years ago. That started, among other things, the energy crisis.
Academy researcher Timo Miettinen The University of Helsinki points out that, in addition to rising energy prices, increases in fertilizer prices are a significant factor behind farmers’ dissatisfaction.
– The prices of tools and supplies needed in agriculture have risen. It has not been possible to make up for it by raising producer prices, says Timo Miettinen.
Inflation has therefore eroded the profitability of agriculture. All European farmers are struggling with the same problem, including Finns. The main demand of both German and French farmers has been related to fuel prices.
In Germany, the government’s budget cuts of tens of billions of euros were hitting tractor diesel price reductions and tax subsidies for machine purchases. After the tractors appeared in Berlin, the government backed down on some of its intentions, but the farmers’ confidence was already on the wane.
In France, the farmers came to you to show their German fellow-fates a little later. Their main demand was also related to diesel. The government wanted to remove the tax relief for diesel used in agriculture.
The roads leading to France’s big cities have been blocked by tractors for several days. Finally, the government relented last week, and there will be no change in the tax treatment of diesel.
The farmers’ representatives, like the Germans, no longer trust the government, and the smelly tractor marches are only going to continue.
Extreme weather weakens crops
Agriculture in Europe has been burdened by many other problems in recent years. In various parts of Europe, drought and terrible heat have made farming impossible in some places and weakened crops.
– There have been bad growing seasons in many countries. In some places, the growing conditions have also been, for example, wet or cold, the agricultural director of the Confederation of Agricultural and Forestry Producers (MTK) Johan Aberg says.
The extreme phenomena of the weather and the lottery brought by climate change are no longer attractive to the extent that traditions would oblige. Maausko is on probation.
The continuation of the heavy work of father and mother is already exhausted by following his parents, as 24-year-old French Armelle Fraidure says in the video below:
In addition to energy issues, Russia’s attack on Ukraine also undermines farmers’ confidence in their livelihoods and in the common European agricultural policy in other ways.
It is especially visible in Poland, whose farmers have strongly protested the EU because it granted duty-free grain to neighboring Ukraine and thus changed the competitive landscape.
– This then lowered the producer prices of Polish farmers, says Johan Åberg, director of agriculture.
The previous government, led by the conservative Law and Justice party, unilaterally withdrew from this agreement. With this game move, the previous government bought the support of agriculturally dominated regions.
Populists court farmers
Now the protesting European farmers are also the target of political passions.
For example, in Germany, the populist and partly far-right AfD party has wanted to join forces with embittered farmers. The party wants to use the energy of the people’s movement as its own driving force during the spring European elections.
Unions representing German farmers have tried to outwit AfD’s suitors, as they want to fight without the presence of parties.
– This has shown that the political atmosphere has escalated and the confrontation has grown. On the other hand, other professional groups have also joined the farmers’ side, Johan Åberg points out.
In France, too, the far-right National Alliance has harassed fighting farmers. In several opinion polls, the National Alliance is blessed with good success in the European elections, and additional votes from France’s prominent agricultural sector could well seal a tangible election victory.
Populist and far-right parties would therefore want to instrumentalize the rebellious spirit of the farmers.
Agriculture is ideologically suitable ground for these parties. In their nostalgic message, agriculture and its traditions are a central part of a lost, decent time. The countryside from decades ago is a picture of a safe and stable world.
The EU’s climate actions are perceived as resistance
The farmers shaking up their own governments are also pointing the finger at the EU and its common agricultural policy. It should be remembered that the EU’s agricultural subsidies are huge.
– It means big reporting responsibilities for farmers. This is also where agricultural producers experience injustice, says academy researcher Timo Miettinen.
The increase in regulation and bureaucracy has been a major topic of opposition in the demonstrations. The EU’s joint climate actions have increased regulation for their part.
MTK’s director of agriculture, Johan Åberg, thinks that many European countries now have to take the climate and environment into account in a completely new way.
– Many countries have come in the direction that Finland has been in for a long time.
Climate action and the EU’s ambitious green transition goal are one more incentive for protesting farmers. It is, of course, clear that diesel-consuming agriculture cannot benefit from the use of electrical technology and advances in the same way.
Here, populists riding on the suspicion of climate change naturally also see a route to the farmers’ favor.