Keys and differences between protests in the Spanish and European countryside

The protests, called by farmers’ and cattle farmers’ organizations from across Europe, have spread to Spain. Major associations of the region, ASAJA, COAG and UPAThere have already been demonstrations in some communities such as Extremadura and Castilla y León and new protests are taking shape due to the conditions of the Spanish countryside.

The main demands, summarized in a joint statement by the three unions, included a ban on unfair competition, less bureaucracy or more legislative control. But although the Spanish camp largely aligns itself with the protests in Europe, there are also fundamental differences.

Key 1: Protests to stop speculation in agricultural land by investment funds

According to COAG spokesperson Rubén Villanueva, the emergence of investment funds for Spanish rural areas represents a radical transformation of the countryside: “We are on the way to a farming without farmers,

Villanueva says that behind the boom in buying and selling of rural properties in recent years are investment funds that want to maximize profits while neglecting the social part of the rural environment: “The professional farmer disappears, But that is what creates “the social fabric in rural areas, it is the added value.”

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A report from real estate consultancy CBRE warns about how agricultural business It is making its way into Spain and Portugal due to the “diversity and quality” of their respective agricultural offerings. A vision in which farmers lament the threat to the sustainability and existence of the way they carry out their activity.

Villanueva deplores, “In the end they are the big funds that want 15 to 40 years of profitability, exhaust all the resources and then they move on to something else,” a situation, as he explains. , is different from a more sustainable and environmentally responsible agriculture.

Key 2: Production costs have skyrocketed since the pandemic and war in Ukraine

New protests in the Spanish and European countryside add to two years of regret. Since 2021, with prices rising due to supply chain congestion, and especially with the Russian invasion of Ukraine since 2022, prices of fertilizer, fuel and livestock feed have skyrocketed, as a quarter of world production The greater part came from the Ukrainian area.

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Agricultural Price Index data on payments by farmers shows that payments for products such as fertilizers have increased significantly. While its price was fixed at 92.51 Euro per 100 kg in January 2021, the price increased to 200.17 Euro in the same month of 2023.

On similar lines is FEED, which rose from EUR 105.84 to EUR 154.95 in the mentioned period. Farmers and livestock farmers are demanding measures to reduce these burdens.

Key 3: A CAP that is overly bureaucratic

Spanish rural associations that announced protests have also demanded procedures for access Support from the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP),

On behalf of COAG, they point out that the new law is governed by 18 royal decrees which makes it very difficult to access all possible assistance. The UPA’s Secretary for International Relations, José Manuel Roche, tells Neutral.es that the CAP was “simple” in the beginning, but that it has become increasingly complex over time.

“Every time they say they are going to simplify it we start trembling. Finally, workers tell us that they face greater bureaucracy and as a result, they earn less and less,” Roche says.

This point is the backbone of a large part of the protests going on in both the Spanish and European countryside. Community farmers scream about a situation that they understand is completely harmful to them. Their defense is that although they must comply with very detailed quality standards, other countries can sell their products without problems even if they do not comply with European regulations.

Álvaro Areta, from COAG’s Technical Services, points to free trade agreements signed between the EU and other countries or institutions and calls for the creation of a mechanism called ‘Mirror Clause’: “In countries with trade agreements, the conditions of production must be applied in accordance with the rules of the destination country so that they are met and have equal conditions. The markets are shared but the rules are not shared.”

Roche gives a concrete example: “While tomatoes are produced in Spain with very specific quality controls, environmental regulations and working conditions, tons of tomatoes come from Morocco produced under completely different conditions and more questionable controls. Are.”

According to Roche, this represents a risk to consumers and demands the introduction of a mirror clause to guarantee the quality of production and consumption of all products arriving in Spain.

There are two differences between the Spanish countryside and European protests

However, protests have also taken place in Spanish and European rural areas point of divergence, COAG explains that while farmers in Europe began their protests against the withdrawal of tax refunds on the fuel they consume, in Spain these refunds are still in place.

The second difference that Arrieta points out is food chain law, because the fact of having specific laws sets us apart from the rest of the EU. Arrieta points out that Spain is a leader in this matter: “Some political delegations from Germany have already come here to learn about the law because they are interested in copying it.” The demand within Spain is that this law be strengthened to guarantee that farmers and ranchers do not operate at a loss (that they buy their products for less money than the cost of their production).