Protests of farmers rise in EU; they target climate change and Neoliberal agri-policies
As the protests of farmers resume in India, a sweeping wave of agitations from European farmers are also making global headlines.
These protests whether local or global, highlight significant fault lines in agricultural governance on a large-scale. The global policies of free-trade impacted emerging economies of the Global South since the mid-1990s. But now, these effects are reified in the North as well. A closer look at the objective of the protests reveals an overwhelming dissatisfaction prevalent in the global agri-community; the criticality of climate change action coupled with the backseat delegation of appropriate agriculture and farming policies have cornered the farmers of the industrialised and capitalist world.
Protests erupted in Brussels, the heart of the European Union, as farmers from Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria targeted a Ukraine summit. They opposed cheap Ukrainian grain exports that didn’t meet EU standards, creating an unstable and unfair market. The protests spread to several European countries within days, featuring tractors blocking streets, port disruptions, egg-throwing, horn-blaring, and fires. The farmers’ discontent escalated, culminating in an attack on the parliamentary building.
The demands of farmers are multifaceted, challenging the EU’s ambitious climate goals outlined in the Green Deal. The deal aims to address pollution, health, sustainable food production, and diets to combat climate change. Proposed European climate laws require farmers to adopt organic methods and animal welfare programmes, leading to concerns among European farmers about the impact on yields and incomes due to increased red-tapism and costs.
Most of them, including Romanian and Polish farmers, are strong advocates for protectionism on imports of agricultural production. European farmers resist importing grains and produce, opposing agriculture-focused free-trade agreements. French President Emmanuel Macron aired the concerns over protesting French farmers by pushing back on EU’s trade talks with MERCOSUR countries. The farmers embody a very evident brand of anti-EU stances with these grievances that have made them susceptible to far-right Euro sceptic parties.
Farmers rallied behind New Zealand’s National Party, securing an election win by supporting the postponement of the world’s first farm emissions tax until 2030. Similar protests in the EU echo past events, such as the 2019 Dutch demonstrations against nitrogen emission regulations that contributed to a surprise victory for far-right leader Geert Wilders. French politician Marion Marechal Le Pen’s support for protesting farmers in Brussels also saw a shift in favour of far-right candidates. Anti-EU populists are predicted to lead in nine member states during the upcoming EU parliamentary elections in June. Additionally, Donald Trump’s appeal to rural communities aligns with a global trend of capitalizing on discontent.
EU farmers, led by figures like Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, have become staunch advocates for anti-EU sentiments. Orban has rallied farmers from Germany, France, and the Netherlands to collectively pressure Brussels for policy changes.
However, the farmers’ demands are not entirely harmonious with the nationalist parties that are rushing for their support. The EU farmers do not support anti-immigration because they are in dire need of migrant labour. The protesting farmers are also aware that their issues and concerns are limited to the election cycle. Once the nationalist farmer-friendly parties across Europe win the elections, what follows for the farmers in the EU?
Farming contributes less than 2% to the GDP of the EU and just 1% in the US, with only 3% of the workforce in high-income countries engaged in agriculture, reflecting a declining trend. However, this data does not highlight the import-dependency of global northern countries on tropical products, revealing a form of neo-colonialism.
Despite claims of high-income levels for EU farmers in recent years, contrary data reveals a more than 10% decrease in prices paid to farmers in 11 EU countries from 2022 to 2023. American farmers are facing their most significant income drop since 2006, with plummeting prices for corn, soybeans, pork, and milk. Various nations are grappling with distinct agricultural crises, such as German farmers resisting the phasing out of tax breaks on agricultural diesel and French farmers protesting the rising cost of farm diesel and import competition.
India has contributed the most to the global share of farmer’s protests in the past three years. Since the 1990s, Indian farmers have been facing uncertainty of prices and output levels due to neoliberal practises adopted by the state. The current government has fallen back on free-trade agreements with Northern countries despite the negative impact it could have on the farmers. Indian farmer’s protests make demands for an assured basic income, a minimum support price for crops that covers their cost of production as well as a modest return for their consumption.
Current protests have prompted the EU to scale back key environmental ambitions. Proposals, including urging farmers to leave 4% of their land uncultivated for biodiversity, were withdrawn, influenced by French farmer protests taken to Brussels by President Macron. EU president Ursula von der Leyen, responding to polarized views, decided to shelve the flagship plan to halve pesticide use. Leyen launched the ‘Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Agriculture’ to improve farmers’ living standards. However, concerns arise about the potential for such initiatives, like the Agreement on Agriculture (AOA), to disadvantage farmers in developing nations in favour of those in the US, Canada, and Western Europe.
The current scenario exposes a complete dissonance between food supplies and affordable nutrition and global farming policies put forth by neoliberal and free-market standards. While climate change and farming practises may have a link that needs to be addressed, it is empirically accepted that extreme, homogenous industrialization coupled with over-production and consumption are the root causes for the climate crisis we are now experiencing. Thus, it is imperative that policy makers in the EU as well as culpable governments elsewhere, recognise these protests as part of a historic struggle against neo-colonialism and capitalistic measures to farming and sustenance.