Now Farmers in Poland Stage Tractor Protests

Slow-moving machinery such as tractors and groups of pedestrians held up traffic all over Poland as Poland’s farmers joined in with European-wide protests designed to push back against a range of government policies farmers say are endangering the future of their industry and trade.

The outbreak of protests, which were signaled last week, comes on the heels of a series of demonstrations and border blockades by Polish truckers that have lasted for months. In addition to protesting against the EU’s “green transition,” these farmers are focused on the liberalization of permits for Ukrainian truckers, which have allowed cheap agricultural goods to flood the Polish and European markets, hurting Polish farmers’ domestic business.

The protests began at noon on Wednesday and are likely to continue over the coming days.

With slogans in support of farmers and agriculture, the main demand of the nationwide farmers’ protest is to stop “uncontrolled imports of agricultural products from Ukraine and other countries outside the EU that do not comply with European standards.”

One of the triggers for the protests was the obligation to comply with an EU policy requiring farmers to leave a certain portion of their fields fallow, which means that a particular portion of land lies idle. Environmentalists argue this allows the land to recover, reduces the need for fertilizers, and can support wildlife and wild plant species.