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Unhappy farmers in Europe - 19th February 2024

Farmers are leaving their fields to protest on streets across Europe. They’re angry about the many problems that they have. The protests began in Poland. But farmers in France, Belgium, Germany and the UK quickly joined them.

They’re complaining about the high cost of energy, transport and food for their animals. Supermarkets also want to pay farmers less, so that customers get low prices. Climate change is adding to farmers’ costs too. And there’s competition from other countries, where farming is cheaper.

New rules in the European Green Deal are part of the problem. Farmers receive money from the EU, but in future, this will only be paid if they follow these rules. They make farmers leave 4 percent of their land for trees and wildlife. After the protests, the European Commission has delayed this rule.

Far right politicians think that the European Green Deal will fail. But the French government’s helping farmers with an extra 150 million euros per year.

UK farmers don’t have EU rules, but they still need support. 49 percent of them say they are going to leave farming. With competition from farmers in other countries where costs are lower, they can’t live on the low income that supermarkets offer.