Around a hundred farmers went to Mons this Saturday evening, for the Festival of Lights. Their goal? Make yourself heard, raise awareness among the population and challenge politicians to try to make things happen.
Also read “Everything happened peacefully”: around a hundred tractors burst into the Mons Lights Festival this Saturday evening
Among the demonstrators, there was Philippe, a farmer in Roisin since 1989. The problems are not new: he produces milk and had, at the time, had to buy all the necessary quotas to be able to produce his milk. “There were hundreds of thousands of euros worth. The quotas fell through, Europe made them disappear so in reality, I bought wind”he tells us.
He gives another reason for his demands: always working harder to earn the same thing. “Before, my parents made 60,000 liters of milk per year. I make 60,000 liters of milk per month and I don’t earn more than them… So, there is still a problem”he notes.
Philippe also tells us about the new CAP of 2024 and the fact that we impose 4% fallow on them. “Last year, because of the war in Ukraine, they removed it… But there is still war in Ukraine, so I don’t see why this year, we should put 4% fallow “asks the farmer.
Administrative overload
Herman is Flemish, but he has lived in Wallonia for 24 years. If he came to demonstrate, “it’s to show solidarity with other farmers,” he tells us. “And also, on the European side, they bother us too much with the paperwork. We have too many constraints in our work because of Europe.”
He criticizes in particular that they are asked to write down everything they do: “Green manure must be sown on this date. We cannot plow before 3 months (…) Every year, the bonuses we are given decrease.” Although he acknowledges that it is still possible to make a living as a farmer, he says that it is becoming more and more complicated.
Supply and demand
Other demands put forward by farmers include the importation of Ukrainian cereals into Europe, which has an impact on the sale of Belgian cereals, according to Philippe. “Our cereals are selling very poorly because of that. And as Europe would like Ukraine to integrate it, they have already removed customs duties. We are flooded and because of that, our cereals are breaking down. the mouth.”
“Everything is globalized, so from the moment there is a little too much on the market, it is the principle of supply and demand, the price drops. We see this very clearly in milk : when there is 1% excess production, the price of milk decreases by 10% for each excess percentage… Each time, we check it”adds the Roisin farmer.
Farmers also point to environmental standards that do not take into account the weather and the importation of meat from abroad, particularly beef from Argentina.
farmers demonstration
2024-01-28 10:41:35
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