Farmers' protests, who is demonstrating and why:the situation in Italy

Italy is also agitated by protests from farmers who are demanding fair compensation for their work and exemptions from ecological obligations.

• As in the rest of Europe, farmers' protests are also being recorded in Italy from the north to the south of the peninsula
• Agricultural producers are asking for fair compensation, but also exemptions from the ecological obligations of the CAP and the fight against synthetic foods.
• Environmental and organic associations fear the risk of political manipulation and underline how the solution lies precisely in the ecological transition.

The farmers' protests which have been shaking Europe for months have erupted a week ago Italy, with processions of tractors which from north to south of the peninsula create traffic disruption by occupying toll booths and arterial roads. 

Only in the last few days Lombardy farmers demonstrated with 250 tractors gathered at Melegnano motorway toll booth, in the hinterland of Milan;in Tuscany the tractors occupied the Valdichiana toll booth, on the A1 motorway;in Sardinia agricultural vehicles blocked the port of Cagliari creating difficulties for the passage of trucks.On January 31st, farmers mobilized to demonstrate at Agricultural Fair to Verona. 

Farmers' protests in Italy:who demonstrates and why

The protesting self-employed agricultural producers gathered under the acronym Cra (Betrayed Farmers Committee), while other demonstrations are organized by coordination Agricultural redemption which he spread a poster in ten points:“We strongly ask that the fair value of our products be paid – we read in the text – Today most of the fruits of our labor are underpaid, the revenues are well below the production costs and this, unfortunately, has persisted for decades:we don't want contributions, we only ask for dignity at the right price."In the list of farmers' requests there are the review of European green deal, theelimination of the obligation not to cultivate 4 percent of the land, the Irpef and Imu tax relief, the maintenance of concessions for agricultural fuel, theelimination of VAT on some primary food products, The contrast to synthetic foods.

Lollobrigida:“Government on the side of farmers against the crazy choices of the European Union”

“The Meloni government is on the side of farmers, without ifs or buts – the Minister of Agriculture commented in a Facebook post Francesco Lollobrigida – In Italy there is no government to convince like in other nations.We know well what needs to be done. The policies of the European Union, endorsed by the governments that came before us, were simply crazy.They have made choices aimed at decreasing production and cultivated land in exchange for increasingly lower subsidies, using environmental sustainability as a cudgel."

The minister also added a comment regarding the ecological objective of reducing pesticides alluding to the desire to favor the gmo:“The use of agrochemicals is necessary to guarantee production until we have stronger plants, capable of resisting plant diseases and other forms of aggression:canceling treatments without alternatives does not mean improving the environment, but canceling European productions by replacing them with products that come from third countries, and which use pesticides in significantly higher quantities than our farmers".Lollobrigida then listed what the government has done for the sector, including the maintenance of benefits on agricultural fuel, the ban on synthetic meat, the stand against the emissions directive which compared stables to industries in terms of pollution.

Coldiretti:“Eliminate the European obligation not to cultivate 4 percent of the land”

Coldiretti, which until now had not joined the protests as it was itself the target of the demonstrations (in Viterbo the protesters burned a flag of the association), announced that it will take to the streets in Brussels on 1 February, on the occasion of the extraordinary European summit on EU budget, where the European Commission will present the proposal for the derogation from EU rules on the obligation to maintain the 4 percent of uncultivated land envisaged by the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to promote biodiversity and improve soil quality.“It is necessary that this obligation be cancelled.It makes no sense to prevent farmers from cultivating portions of their land when they are then forced to import.We need a decisive change in European policies to enhance our fertile lands and stop unfair imports to ensure that all products entering the Union respect the same standards from an environmental, health and labor standards point of view. in the internal market".To respond to the protests, the The EU Commission has already announced that it will grant an exemption to farmers on the obligation to leave land uncultivated.

Environmental associations:“The ecological transition is the remedy for the problems”

Environmental and health associationsorganic farming like Slow Food and Federbio they understand the farmers' protests, but explain that the solution lies precisely in ecological transition and highlight the risk of political exploitations of demonstrations.

Nina Wolff, member of the international council of Slow Food, commented:“The protests are taking place against the backdrop of decades of misguided agricultural policy, which we strongly criticize.Our farmers need fair prices for their products, far-sighted policies and secure financing commitments, which are still lacking today, to restructure agriculture while respecting the climate and animals.The transition towards sustainability is urgent, but it must be inclusive and allow everyone to do their part."And again:“We oppose the exploitation of the protests by far-right groups who claim to represent farmers with the sole intention of gathering votes ahead of the 2024 European elections, thus overshadowing the important public discussion on the necessary transition of food systems." .

The president of Federbio Mariagrazia Mammuccini, interviewed by The Huffington Post, declared that she understands the discomfort of farmers who from an economic point of view are the weak link in the chain with the CAP which has rewarded large companies and penalized small ones, supporting those who make extensive use of synthetic chemistry and investing little in green innovation, a policy that has slowed down the search for solutions suitable for solving current problems.For the president, however, "to blame the green deal means exchanging the remedy for the cause of the evil.The solution is to help farmers during the green transition phase, "the only one that allows us to save the elements without which agriculture will never be able to make money:fertile soil, genetic diversity, availability of water".

On January 25th the event began in Brussels strategic dialogue for the future of agriculture and the challenge is precisely to find a balance between agricultural, economic and environmental policies.