Anger of the Peasantry: Change in the Kolkata and the Ridicule of the Government

High production costs, low purchase prices, speculation by industrialists and large traders, lack of protection of productive, plant and animal capital, reduction of subsidies as a result of the implementation of the new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), as well as comparative failures and omissions of the government created stifling conditions in the agricultural world.

Farmers, livestock farmers, beekeepers, fishermen are faced with an extremely complex environment of uncertainty and difficulty, which is intensified by the consequences of the climate crisis, with the occurrence of floods and forest fires, phenomena that have brought to the surface the failure of the state machinery to match the circumstances.

It is no coincidence that all the demands of the country’s farmers – including local and specific problems – have a single denominator: to survive with dignity. Stay in your villages, with your crops, with your herds.

The anger of farmers in Greece, as well as throughout Europe, has become even more acute, since the accumulated problems, to which were added the energy crisis, the coronavirus pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the high cost of living, are still making themselves felt. All of the above affects both production and the incomes of farmers, livestock breeders, beekeepers and fishermen.

It is no coincidence that at this time a general rural uprising is taking place in Europe, the main demands of which are approximately the same in all countries: a relaxation of the environmental rules of the new ΚΑΠ, protection from rising prices and cheap imports.

However, in Greece, rural residents have much more reason to get on the rails. Farmers feel like the weak link in a policy of outright mockery of them: they constantly hear beautiful and great words, but as a result their incomes are reduced so much that the very viability of their farms becomes doubtful.

This is easy to see by looking at the rate of decline in farms, production and livestock in recent years. This year, however, the knot was tied: just a few days ago the government remembered that ΕΛΓΑ exists. The government ousts the former OPECPE President for his mistakes and replaces him. But these errors were not corrected. Farmers have yet to see any additional payments. As for the victims in Thessaly, despite the excuses and promises, many months later they are still waiting for the light at the end of the tunnel.

In the midst of all this and under the pressure of mobilizations, the government remembered the cost of production and the inability of farmers to cope with the situation. But can this be done by announcing some or separate measures to calm the pent-up anger?

In the era of the 4th industrial revolution, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, farmers in our country, alone and helpless, are trying to survive, faced with… beasts and predators that haunt us, tearing apart what is left of their wounded flesh . They ask for dignity, fairness, straight talk and honest decisions.

Our country, with a population of 10 million souls, pays every year… a memorandum for the import of food products. The billions that go into the economies of other countries is a big bleeding wound that needs to finally be closed. And this will only happen if the farmer is supported so that he can produce in his own country. Greece is perhaps the only country in Europe that, under different circumstances and different policies, could sufficiently feed its population. When governments understand this, then the farmer will get the place he deserves.

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