Some 2,000 farmers blocked their tractors in several Latvian cities this Monday, demanding measures such as an end to imports from Russia and threatening an invasion of the country’s capital next week.
The Zamnieku Saeima (Peasant Council in Latvian) collective, one of the main organizations calling for the protest, noted that its first goal had been achieved – to attract attention. Now it is necessary to take concrete measures, he added.
Although Agriculture Minister Armands Krause has already spoken with farmers and a meeting is planned with the Speaker of Parliament and members of the Ministry of Finance, Latvian farmers want to negotiate with Prime Minister Evika Silina.
Farmers are demanding an immediate ban on food imports from Russia and Belarus without a transition period, reports the Diena news portal.
They also demand a reduction in the national fruit and vegetable tax to five per cent, a reduction in bureaucracy in the sector and greater access to modernization programs and treasury support.
European farmers, including in Portugal, have taken to the streets in recent weeks, cutting up roads with tractors and straw bales, demanding CAP flexibility and more support for the sector, which has already prompted governments to take new measures.
In Portugal, about fifty tractors and agricultural machines are clogged this Monday morning on the Complementary Route (IC) 2 in the Benedita area, in the municipality of Alcobaça, where farmers from the western region are protesting against the current state of the sector.