Madrid (EFE).- Several hundred farmers from different parts of the country have begun a protest act with tractors that will tour the center of Madrid to ask the Government for measures against the “true ruin” that lives in the countryside.
The farmers, who have left from the Puerta de Alcalá in the direction of the headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, demand aid to face the drought and the high production costs, as well as speed to approve more measures.
Summoned by the organization Unión de Uniones, the farmers have arrived in the Spanish capital after several days on the road from regions such as Extremadura, Castilla y León, the Valencian Community, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Catalonia.
The agrarian organization Unión de Uniones calculates that the approved aid will only be able to cover 3% of the losses that are taking place, and calls for “greater forcefulness” and responsibility from the current government and the one it conforms to after the general elections on July 23.
Specifically, they see it as necessary to make the CAP more flexible so that aid is not lost; hydrological planning that makes the most of water; agricultural insurance that responds “truly” to the emergency situation; delay the application of the digital notebook and “compensate for the extra cost” that it entails for farms.
Supply of water and food at “reasonable” prices
In addition, they demand guarantees for the supply of water and food at “reasonable” prices to livestock, as well as preventing and compensating damage to agriculture and livestock “due to the overpopulation of wildlife.”
Concentrates carry banners stating that the countryside is ‘ruined and cannot wait’ and are honking tractor horns in protest.
In addition, the three columns of tractors have been received with the cry of “Brave!” after traveling tens of kilometers to reach the capital.
The march is expected to end after noon in front of the Ministry’s headquarters, where the state coordinator of the Union of Unions, Luis Cortés, and other territorial officials will read a manifesto with their main demands.