Tractors against politicians

Let's go to March 15, 2023, almost a year ago. That day were the provincial elections in the Netherlands (that country that we mistakenly call Holland here, when Holland is a region) and the party with the most votes, with 19.19% of the votes, is the Peasant-Citizen Movement (or BBB), which obtained the largest number of seats and was the most voted in 10 of the 12 provinces that make up the nation (it was not just in the 2 most urban ones). He BoerBurgerBeweging was founded in 2019 by the journalist Caroline van del Plas to oppose the government's proposal to limit hydrogen emissions in crops, the cause of farmers' protests in the fall of that year. As we see, the issue comes from afar although the media has not paid enough attention. And during the pandemic, the importance of the agricultural sector was clear, one of the few that did not stop.

After the pandemic, and aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, prices skyrocketed, and although they ended up affecting the final consumer, the one who was most harmed at first was the primary sector, burdened by the rise in energy prices. The lack of sensitivity of our political leaders led, despite the difficult situation in which the agricultural world found itself, to insist on a calendar where supposed ecological objectives They are above the well-being of the producers (mostly small). There are protests in many European countries, often silenced by the mainstream media, and which in many cases were described as acts to obtain aid and subsidies, for example when the price of diesel skyrocketed. But there was much more.

On June 22, 2022, almost two years ago, the European Commission proposed a regulation on “nature restoration” with the goal of “repairing 80% of European habitats in poor condition”, which led to the draft Law of Nature Restoration, part of the European Green Deal and biodiversity strategy 2030. In practice this implies a reduction in livestock, more regulations for transport and cultivation and “ecoregimes” that make the activity of the entire sector more expensive (some, due to protests, it was withdrawn this week). In November 2023, the EU finally agrees to move forward with the law, thanks to an agreement between the Council and the European Parliament, in which, due to pressure from groups further to the right, some measures are moderated against the opinion of “the greens”. Because it was then Spain's turn to hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council, the Spanish government is one of those that congratulates it the most. The final ratification process should arrive this semester, under the Belgian presidency. As the majorities in the European Parliament are clear and will not change until after the European elections this June, those who oppose this law only have the option of kicking.

And given that the European elections are not far away, now is when politicians of all stripes say they are in solidarity with the sector against which, for the most part, they have legislated.

And that's what we're seeing these days. Germany, France, Italy, Romania, Poland, Greece, Ireland, Belgium, Portugal, Spain (where the great rise in the SMI in recent years adds a problem to small agricultural entrepreneurs) … the difficult thing is to find countries where there are no demonstrations and protests in the agricultural world. And given that the European elections are not far away, now is when politicians of all stripes say they are in solidarity with the sector against which, for the most part, they have legislated. Basically the problem with “environmental” is that it reduces profitability by increasing production and transportation costs and, by raising the demands of the final product, it reduces the volume of production that can be sold.

In an ideal world without borders, European agriculture would barely exist since the climatic conditions in other parts of the globe are more prone to agricultural and livestock production. However, if we have learned anything from the pandemic and the subsequent economic recovery, it is the problem of depending too much on the outside world. Of course, on paper we should not grow, for example, mangoes and avocados in the dry lands of southern Spain. when it is surely cheaper to buy these fruits in rainier countries with a better climate, but following that theory, almost everything produced in the world would be cheaper purchased in Africa and South America than manufactured here. If we followed that logic, there would be no farmers (probably no industry) in Europe, and we would only be a service economy. And it is healthy to diversify and not depend on the external context for the most basic products, such as food. We are already quite dependent on fossil fuels from other continents.

This war even goes as far as the absurdity of fighting among ourselves as they did in France when they attacked Spanish tomatoes. The problem belongs to the EU, but it has specific nuances in each country

In order to have agriculture in europe We have been subsidizing what is here for many years and imposing tariffs on what comes from other places, in a difficult balance that, logically, never pleases everyone. But it is beginning to lean more clearly against the sector in Europe by demanding measures, with the excuse of the environment, which greatly harms the European farmer compared to the importer, to which they do not put so many obstacles. This war even goes as far as the absurdity of fighting among ourselves as they did in France when they attacked Spanish tomatoes. The problem belongs to the EU, but it has specific nuances in each country whose description would make this text very long. The summary is clear: if we want to have a high minimum of agricultural, livestock and fishing production in Europe, we must either be more flexible with “ecological” standards (the exact opposite of what has been legislated), raise tariffs (monetary and/or or “ecological” demands on imports or further increasing subsidies to the sector (the one I like the least). Or a mixture of all three measures. And of course we should not continue fighting between EU members, and much less between farmers and transporters, since the problem and the solution lies in our politicians. Only they deserve the protests.