Italian farmers rally nationwide against agricultural challenges

Italian farmers stage nationwide protests, with tractors forming a crowded convoy through Cuneo

Italian farmers staged protests throughout the country on Wednesday, in which the farmers showed the difficulties they endure and stressed how important they are to the nation. Hordes of tractors, with banners saying “No farmers, no food, no tomorrow” and bearing the slogan were driven through the northern city of Cuneo as a protest in support of the farmers.

In other parts of the country, similar scenarios were seen, with more than 300 vehicles converging in Alessandria, near Milan, and a large number of farmers and shepherds gathering in the Sardinian port of Cagliari, an Italian news agency reported. Although the level of protests in Italy has not yet reached the scale of those that have taken place in the neighboring states of France, Germany, and Belgium, the growing frequency and number of them show the rising dissatisfaction of farmers.

The protesters raise a variety of issues from such problems as constraints imposed by the European Union regulations to those related to the economic effect of inflation and taxes on their agricultural products. These factors are considered crucial threats to the livelihoods of many farmers, hence boosting their desire to be heard throughout the European countries.

Sending a ripple of protest across the continent, Italy’s powerful agricultural organization Coldiretti announced that Italian farmers plan to continue their protest in Brussels on Thursday. This is a sign of some sort of strategic collusion with European farmers from other countries who see the EU agriculture policies as being harmful to their livestock.

Source: AFP