Thousands of farmers, ranchers and hunters in the Region participated this Sunday in the largest national protest in defense of the sector, which has invaded Madrid to demand a shock plan against the rise in production costs
Thousands of farmers and ranchers from the Region of Murcia participated this Sunday morning in the demonstration that runs through the Paseo de la Castellana in Madrid in defense of the rural world; in the most massive march starring the Spanish countryside and in which the hunting sector has a prominent presence. The convening agrarian unions were overwhelmed by the massive response from the countryside, which invaded the center of Madrid to demand solutions from the central government. An hour after the start of the march, the queue for the demonstration was still at the starting point in the Plaza de Atocha, next to the Ministry of Agriculture. The Paseo de la Castellana was a sea of orange and green vests.
The Region of Murcia was present with those who traveled in more than fifty coaches, and especially with those who traveled in their private vehicles, which on this occasion were the majority. Those responsible for Coag, Asaja and UPA in the Region highlighted the success of the protest that brought together hundreds of thousands of farmers, ranchers and hunters.
In the demonstration, which had its end in front of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, the affiliates of the Murcian countryside integrated into Coag, Asaja and UPA participated, together with members of the Federation of Cooperatives (Fecoam), of the associations of producers and exporters ( Proexport, Apoexpa and Ailimpo) and irrigation communities of the basin and the Transfer.
There were many families, as well as small and medium-sized owners who traveled from various parts of the Region in defense of their farms and their livelihoods. The majority participated in the demonstration that toured the center of Murcia on February 16, and which culminated in the protest this Sunday in the Spanish capital to demand solutions from the Government of the nation. The organizers consider the labor and fiscal measures approved days ago through the drought decree to be clearly insufficient.
Miguel Tomás Jiménez, who has a family farm in San Javier, considers that the sector “is worse than bad.” He noted that the field has been through many “bad times, but none like this.” Agustín Zaplana, from Campo de Cartagena, stated that the rural world “is very tired of freedoms and rights being cut off from us. They want to eliminate our customs.”
The president of the Irrigation Community of Lorca, Juan Marín, pointed out that this is one of the largest demonstrations in the field, which calls for quick solutions. In the same sense, the businesswoman from Abarán Esther Gómez considered that “people from the countryside can’t take it anymore.”
The protest takes place in a context of greater difficulties due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine and the strike of autonomous carriers, two conflicts added to the list of demands of the field, which suffers the effects of the shortage of cereals for feed, and above all the logistical problems to receive raw materials and get their productions to the market, as occurs in the fruit and vegetable and canning sector.
Mercamadrid, the destination point for fruit and vegetables produced in the Segura basin, has seen the number of trucks reduced by 25% in recent days.
In this climate, the agricultural sector claims the role it has to play to guarantee food sovereignty in Spain and the European Union, now that the weaknesses of the common agricultural policy have been exposed.
López Miras «The central government is in other things»
The president of the Community, Fernando López Miras, participated in the march together with the Minister of Agriculture Antonio Luengo and regional and national parliamentarians. Senior officials and MEPs from the PP also attended, such as Esteban González Pons, Cuca Gamarra, Juan Ignacio Zoido and Francisco Núñez, from Castilla-La Mancha, among others.
Before the demonstration began, López Miras pointed out that the farmers, ranchers and transporters who were considered heroes during the pandemic “have been forgotten months later by the Government of Spain and Mr. Sánchez.” There is an indiscriminate rise in production costs that makes their farms unviable and make ends meet. There is a skyrocketing increase in the price of hydrocarbons, gas, electricity and a tax system that is suffocating them. There must also be a CAP adapted to the real situation. The Government of Spain has forgotten these sectors that are strategic for the Region and the country as a whole.
López Miras considered that “now it has been shown more than ever that it is essential that we be self-sufficient in food. Following the cruel invasion of the tyrant Putin, we have seen that we cannot depend on third countries. It becomes more important than ever to set the conditions to help the sector and lower taxes, but the Government looks the other way and is on other things.
Representatives of Vox in the Region also attended, such as its president José Ángel Antelo.
Among the convening organizations are Coag, UPA, Asaja, Fenacore, Agro-Food Cooperatives, Rural Alliance, the National Hunting Office and the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation. They demand a shock plan against the high costs of raw materials, fuel and electricity; the reform of agricultural insurance and the CAP; and control of imports from third countries; as well as the defense of hunting and agrotourism. The rural world considers it essential to lower taxes and other measures that alleviate the loss of agricultural income; as well as the application of the Food Chain Law with fair prices for producers.
The protest of the Region of Murcia has several singularities, among them the water and the defense of the Transfer. The Irrigation Union placed a giant banner days ago in Puerta del Sol with the slogan ‘In the next pandemic we will eat land’, arguing that if water transfers from the Tagus are reduced by half, it will affect the food supply and the future of 80,000 irrigators from Levante. The irrigation communities of the region, Alicante and Almería have returned to demonstrate in Madrid, as they did last year.
Claims
The main demands of the agricultural and livestock sector are based on the regional and national administrations launching a shock plan with direct support, through legislative and fiscal measures, to deal with the alarming increase in production costs. In the water chapter, they propose ecological flows in the Tagus “adjusted to technical and rigorous studies, and that do not imply an unnecessary reduction in volumes to transfer to Levante”, as well as hydrological plans adjusted to the future of the sector with more investments for modernize irrigation They also ask for more regulation hydraulic works to strengthen the fight against climate change and mitigate floods and droughts.
They also demand the improvement of the agricultural insurance system, as well as the effective control of trade agreements with third countries, so that the requirements for extra-community production and health surveillance for access to the European market are equated. They also propose a plan that favors the improvement of environmental sustainability and animal welfare.
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