News peasant protests
10.000 German farmers take to the streets in Berlin
An estimated 26 farmers from all over Germany will gather in Berlin today, Tuesday 10.000 November. Tractor columns have been on their way to the capital since Sunday afternoon. It is the largest farmers' protest ever. The motives for demonstrating are often similar to those from the Netherlands.
Appreciation for the farming profession, the ever stricter crop protection products policy, stricter fertilizer standards and rock-bottom prices for meat and milk. These are some of the main reasons why German farmers can no longer take it and occupy the area around the Brandenburg Gate on Tuesday 26 November. CDU agriculture minister Julia Klöckner, among others, addresses the crowd there. The minister of the environment also climbs the stage in the afternoon.
500 kilometers to Berlin
In total, around 10.000 farmers are expected in the capital. An estimated 5.000 of them come by tractor. A journey that, for farmers from Bavaria, for example, takes 3 days and covers more than 500 kilometers.
In the Netherlands, the halving decision of D66 politician Tjeerd de Groot was the straw that broke the camel's back. With the eastern neighbors this is the sharpening 'Düngeverordnung'. Germany is in danger of facing a European fine of billions because nitrate levels in the groundwater are too high. As a result, the rules for spreading slurry are being considerably tightened up. The new rules cause problems, especially in states with a lot of livestock farming, such as Lower Saxony.
Fair price and appreciation
In Germany, too, consumers are critical when it comes to animal health and barn comfort, but they are often unwilling to pay a higher price for this. That hurts the German farmers. They therefore ask for a fair price, better margin distribution in the chain and appreciation for their profession.
Minister Klockner says to understand the protesting farmers, who are unfairly portrayed in the media as polluters or animal abusers. A meeting is scheduled for December 2 between Chancellor Angela Merkel and 40 agricultural advocacy groups.
Traffic disruption
It is not the first time this year that German farmers have taken to the streets in protest. At the end of October, just after the Dutch protests, more than 16 cities protested† Locally, the tractors cause problems with traffic, although it is largely orderly.
Niels van der Boom
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