Malaga farmers to join huge demonstration to protest stricter EU agricultural policies

The new requirements from Brussles come at a difficult time for the sector in the province due to the drought and other factors such as rising costs

Matías Stuber

Malaga

Wednesday, 30 August 2023, 14:33

Farmers in Malaga province are set to join a large demonstration called for 5 September in Cordoba to protest against the increasingly strict requirements set by the European Union. It comes during very difficult times for the sector due to the drought and other factors such as rising costs.

The main agricultural associations in Malaga province – Asaja, COAG, UPA – and Cooperativas Agroalimentarias agreed on Tuesday to support the demonstration. It will be the first such street gathering of the autumn which, according to sources in the sector, will be marked by protest actions.

The 5 September mass protest coincides with a summit of EU agriculture ministers. According to the farmers, climate and food security policies are putting thousands of families who make a living from farming at risk. They say that the vast majority of the ministers are "totally out of touch" with day-to-day reality.

One farmer who runs a pig farm in the province said: "We are inspected all the time and no matter how well you have everything, it is never enough."

According to Eurostat data, the Andalusian agri-food sector has been enduring two years of rising prices for fertilisers, phytosanitary products, plastics, diesel and electricity, which has led to an increase in production costs of more than 35% in 2022. Although this rise has translated into an increase in the value of foodstuffs at source (over 25%), farmers and stockbreeders are being squeezed from all sides, with many leaving the sector.

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