Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1518765
10 OPINION maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 10 APRIL 2024 IN October 2019, Dutch live- stock farmers were up in arms against the national authori- ties. They conducted a series of demonstrations characterised by the use of tractors to block roads and occupy public spac- es. The protests were against a proposal in parliament to halve the country's livestock in an attempt to limit agricultural pollution in the Netherlands, but the protesting farmers were motivated by a perceived lack of respect for their profession by the Dutch populace, media and politicians. The protests combined sever- al action groups and an amal- gamation of larger goals, which included less government reg- ulation for farmers, more air time for pro-farmer sentiments and more policy to punish oth- er industries for their part in the emission crisis. Last February, such protests spread like wildfire across Eu- rope, including Malta. Maltese farmers swamped the country's main roads with their tractors to show solidarity with their European counterparts, who were against the existing and proposed new EU policies that threatened their livelihood. The last time Maltese farmers pro- tested was 40 years ago. The challenges that many European farmers, not least Maltese, faced during the last decades were significant. They contended with economic hardships born out of rapidly declining farm prices, prohibi- tively high tariffs on items they needed to purchase and foreign competition. One of the largest challenges they faced was over- production, where the glut of their products in the market- place drove the price lower and lower. The more they produced, the lower prices dropped. To a hard-working farmer, the no- tion that their own overproduc- tion was the greatest contribut- ing factor to their debt was a completely foreign concept. The cost of running farms and fields, with time, was driven up by increasingly expensive fertil- isers, fuel, electricity and pesti- cides. European farmers complained about red tape and restrictions on water usage, as well as com- petition from Ukrainian im- ports let into the European Un- ion to help its economy during the war. Their blockades and pickets exposed a clash between the EU's drive to cut CO2 emissions and its aim of becoming more self-sufficient in the production of food and other essentials following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The revolt fuelled a narrative that the EU was riding roughshod over farmers, who are struggling to adapt to strin- gent environmental regulations amid an inflation shock. Opinion polls showed farm- ers' grievances resonated with the public. The European pub- lic considered the EU, with its Common Agricultural Policy, to be a handicap for farmers, not an asset. Europe was put- ting them on a drip to let them die silently. A New Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) was initially de- clared to be greener and fairer. To improve farmers' situations, a fairer distribution of CAP in- come support among farmers was promised by the European Commission. But it was never to be. Farmers faced big challenges, obstacles and a lack of support. The initial response by in- creasingly frustrated and an- gry farmers was to organise into groups that were similar to early labour unions. Taking note of how the industrial la- bour movement had unfolded in the last quarter of the centu- ry, farmers began to understand that a collective voice could create significant pressure among political leaders and produce substantive change. While farmers had their chal- lenges, including those of geog- raphy and diverse needs among different types of farmers, they believed this model to be useful to their cause. These protests came after a new farmers' party scored high- ly in the Dutch elections. Just a few weeks before elec- tions to the European Parlia- ment, those protests could amplify a shift to the right in the European Parliament and imperil the EU's green agenda. Poll projections show an "an- ti-climate policy action coali- tion" could be formed in the new legislature in June. Consequent to those protests across all of Europe, national governments scrambled to ad- dress farmers' concerns, with France and Germany both wa- tering down proposals to end tax breaks on agricultural die- sel. The European Commission also announced new measures. Coming back to Malta, the government must be more than ever determined to protect the Maltese agricultural model so that farmers can make a decent living from their work, simpli- fy their lives, and support them in an environmental transition that will ensure the long-term future of their profession. Many Maltese farmers apply sustainable and ethical farming practices. Most make it their mission to promote a Mediter- ranean diet and make eating a local and nutritious diet sim- ple, affordable and accessible to people in Malta. The prices of vegetables and fruits pose a challenge. The price difference between organ- ic and commercially produced vegetables and fruits is high. This is why the general public would rather buy commercially produced vegetables and fruits. It's a challenge to provide organically produced vegeta- The farmers' revolt Mark Said is a veteran lawyer Mark Said Maltese farmers swamped the country's main roads with their tractors in February