After a show of force this weekend in Thessaloniki, Greek farmers angry at the high cost of living and low incomes are promising new actions.
In Greece, the anger of farmers does not weaken. They intensified their protests by heading to the annual “Agrotica” fair in Thessaloniki this weekend. Hundreds of tractors invaded the country’s second largest city. Farmers are demanding immediate aid measures from the Greek government but also from the European Union. They say the current situation is forcing them to leave their farms and livelihoods.
Efi Tzotzopoulos, farmer: “They must change the new CAP, so that farmers can work, so that they know what they can grow and what their income will be. If this situation continues and no action is taken, the primary sector will be destroyed.”
The Greek Prime Minister has announced a series of measures, but farmers say they are “a mockery” and are demanding much more.
Rizos Maroudas, member of the farmers’ roadblock committee: “These measures do not correspond to the current situation, the high production costs and the humiliating prices at which we sell our products and the financial situation of the country. The country has the money to support the primary sector.”
Farmers warn that if things do not change, they will be forced to change professions or even leave Greece to survive.
Thomas Tsaltas, farmer: “We want a realistic reduction in production costs. We want to stay on our farms, in our homes and in our country, because a country without farmers is an empty country.”
Protesters left Thessaloniki and began returning to their roadblocks in central and northern Greece. They are announcing a meeting this Tuesday to determine how to proceed, but it seems very unlikely that they will abandon the roadblocks under these circumstances.
Our special correspondent in Thessaloniki, Apostolos Staikos:“Just a few months before the European elections, European farmers are making their presence felt and attracting the attention of politics and public opinion. Also in this common struggle are Greek farmers who claim that the high costs of energy and expensive raw materials lead to the decision to abandon their land.
