Farmers Protest in EU

We are used to farmer protests in India. What are the reasons for the same across Europe, from France and Germany to Poland, wondered Pranay Kotasthane.

 

There are two immediate causes for it. First, the Ukraine war. When the war started, the EU removed the ban on agricultural imports from Ukraine. To help Ukraine. But that created a side-effect. Ukraine is so much more efficient and productive at agriculture than the EU that this move has hurt EU farmers. EU farmers are also worried that the ongoing trade negotiations with South America will further increase the import of cheaper agricultural products.

 

Second, the EU has changed several policies to reduce the effects of climate change. This includes measures like “reducing pesticide use, developing organic farming, protecting biodiversity, and sunsetting fossil fuel subsidies in agriculture”. All these moves hurt farming and farmers.

 

The specific cause for protests in different European countries are different, but at a high level, they fall under one of the two categories listed above.

 

Only 1% of Germany’s population is farmers (2% for France), and German farmers contribute just 0.7% to German GDP (1.6% of French GDP). Yet, despite this tiny numerical and economic share, farmers in these countries have a very large political clout. How/why?

 

Since 1962, Europe has heavily subsidized farming. While the share of subsidies has been falling, every decrease sets off a backlash – after all, every reduction hurts the farmers, makes their situation a little worse than before. In the EU’s case, the maximum limit on subsidies is set by, well, the EU, not individual countries. This means when the farmers rage, the respective government tends to point the finger at the “complex bureaucracy” in Brussels (EU HQ).

 

Also, since farmers have more to lose, they lobby hard. There is no counter-force out there that lobbies hard against farmers. He who fights harder wins. In this case, that’s the farmers.

 

Unlike other groups that may want to protest, farmers have tractors and other heavy farming equipment which are ideal for “road-blocking protests”. That means the impact, disruption and inconvenience is high; and thus, the news coverage is also high.

 

Lastly, unlike most other occupations, farming is seasonal by nature. In the off-season, farmers can go on long protests with no risk of losing income. Small business owners and industrial workers don’t have this option.

 

No wonder then that farmers protests in the EU play out the way they do.