Farmers to hold protest today in Córdoba

Farmers and ranchers from all over the national territory will gather today, Tuesday, in Córdoba to demand a change in European agricultural policy that guarantees our food system and a professionalised model of agriculture. The protest will take place at 11:00 a.m. in the Plaza del Triunfo in Córdoba.

Given the situation of defencelessness that the agricultural sector is experiencing, threatened by EU policies and the growing unfair competition from third countries and seriously affected by the increase in production costs, drought and the lack of profitability of farms, the Convening agricultural organisations demand coherent political solutions regarding climate change, food security and protection of the national and European productive fabric.

Farmers and ranchers will take advantage of the meeting of EU Agriculture Ministers, which will be attended by the Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Janusz Wojciechowski, to demand “new rules of the game” where food, guaranteed from our productive system, built on safety and quality, becomes an issue of top priority for the EU.

The Spanish countryside demands equal treatment for European productions and those from third countries. We consider it essential to intensify border controls to guarantee the entry of food produced under the same phytosanitary, labour and quality requirements to which European producers are obliged. This of course would include stricter rules for importing food from the UK, as it will no longer comply with European standards after Brexit. Furthermore, EU free trade agreements, such as Mercosur, systematically use the agricultural sector as a bargaining chip, forcing the closure of thousands of agricultural and livestock farms throughout Europe.

Likewise, the convening organisations remember that the latest CAP reform approved by Brussels demands more with fewer resources. Strategies such as “Farm to Fork” or the Nature Restoration Law remain mere green showcase policies if they do not have a realistic roadmap and much more ambitious support measures so that professional farmers can undertake the transition in a fair, balanced and profitable manner.

All of this, at a time when agricultural producers are in a ruinous situation as a result of the crazy rise in production costs, more than 35% in 2022; the drop in productivity due to the drought and prices at origin that do not guarantee to cover production costs.

For all these reasons, ASAJA, COAG, UPA and the Agro-Food Cooperatives demand from the EU Agriculture Ministers “a change in agricultural policies and the consideration of food as a matter of highest priority”, for which it is essential to protect to the productive fabric, European farmers and ranchers, so that they can fulfil their basic function of providing healthy and safe food to society at reasonable prices.

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