BarcelonaThe farmers have no intention of stopping the protest. Quite the contrary, in addition to the march scheduled for Wednesday in Madrid, the Catalan agricultural union Unió de Pagesos (UP) is preparing for a cross-border mobilization next week with French farmers, as explained on Monday by the entity's Secretary General, John Caballe. It will be a measure to continue demanding urgent solutions to the crisis in the agricultural sector.
Cabal explained, in a press conference, that they are still holding talks with their French counterparts to finalize the details and the day of the protest, but he claimed that there are common reasons for protesting before the European Union. UP will also mobilize on Wednesday and will participate in the protest called for with the Unió d'Unions in front of the Ministry of Agriculture in Madrid. Therefore, Cabal considered that there would be a “small presence” of tractors from Catalan farmers at the demonstration in the Spanish capital, because the bulk would come from the provinces closest to Madrid, and described it as “insufficient” for the solutions. Currently presented by Agriculture Minister Luis Planas.
Apart from these protests at the border and in Madrid, UP wants to maintain mobilization in the country as well. There will be “more protests in Catalonia” in the coming weeks, because the agricultural union realizes that there have not been sufficient answers to its demands. Caballe told reporters that they did not expect next week's demonstrations to coincide with the Mobile World Congress and insisted that work with French farmers would focus on the border.
Despite this mobilization, the union remains open to negotiations with the departments and will participate this Thursday in the agricultural table meeting with the state, through which it wants to address the amendment of the special plan to combat drought so that this is no longer the case. The sector is sanctioned Representatives of the organization also plan to meet on Friday with the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture in the Spanish government delegation in Catalonia to hear their demands. UP demands reduced bureaucracy for farmers, more aid to young farmers, tax relief for aid received, reduction in tax burden on investments or advances of 100% aid, and continues to demand the same production rules for farmers in other countries.
Cabal appealed for the unity of the farmers in their demands, while a large part of the protest was exploited by the new “Plataforma Bagesa” movement, which did not stop criticizing the traditional unions. The Secretary-General of the Farmers' Union stressed that the Union “does not exclude anyone” and is “ready to cooperate with everyone.”
Planas asks for coordination
Agriculture Minister Luis Planas asked the autonomous regions to support agricultural insurance and standardize rural inspections, at a meeting of the Advisory Council for Agricultural and Fisheries Policy. “The autonomous regions can do a lot because agriculture and animal husbandry are independent competences. Therefore, among the 18 measures I announced last Thursday, many of them have important independent content,” he stressed at the press conference before the meeting with the ministers. Agriculture.
The minister noted that there are “very simple measures” in the hands of communities to “respond precisely” to the requests made by farmers and ranchers, who have been demonstrating and gathering for more than two weeks. Regarding enforcement of the food chain law, which he said was “working well,” and penalties for selling at a loss, Planas encouraged communities to standardize inspections. “I will propose to the autonomous regions that, within the scope of their powers, they coordinate procedures so that a single inspection of the region in the agricultural and livestock situation can be carried out. I think this is a simplistic procedure that does not exist,” he noted.
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