Why are angry farmers blocking highways from Paris to New Delhi?

Farmers are protesting, among other things, the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine, increased competition, and the slowing of climate change in Europe and India.

TFD – Delve into the complex issues of farmers’ protests, climate change impacts, and economic pressures faced by the agricultural sector in Europe and India.

Karan Singh spent weeks living in an improvised tent 180 miles away from New Delhi, the capital of India.

When Singh and five other farmers from his village in the western state of Punjab drove down in a tractor to join thousands more in an increasing campaign to pressure the government to raise crop prices, they were living off their own supplies, which included a gas cylinder and raw produce they packed from their farms.

Singh, who primarily harvests wheat and rice on his 10-acre parcel of land, declared, “I am drowning in debt.” “We are making every effort to use our farms. Production is not lacking, but we are unable to sell it for a reasonable price.

Not only have tractors been tearing up highways in India, but also throughout Europe. There, farmers have taken to the streets of Paris, Brussels, and other cities in a rage about problems like as the effects of Russia’s war in Ukraine, climate change, and measures to combat it.

Although the particular causes of the ire differ from nation to nation, the end effect is generally the same: farmers claim that governments must act decisively to preserve their way of life. Experts assert that the timing is not coincidental, as demonstrators are vying for pro-policy measures during a year marked by a record number of global elections.

The majority of farmers don’t turn a profit. Most of them are scraping by and doing backbreaking work most city people don’t understand,” said Chris Hegadorn, a former U.S. diplomat and an adjunct professor of food politics at Sciences Po in Paris.

“They can make their case in public during election cycles,” Hegadorn stated.

Earlier this year, Singh and thousands of farmers from northern India started marching to the capital, calling for debt relief measures in addition to increased prices for their crops. Before last Thursday, when they were permitted to hold a rally in the capital, they faced weeks of police batons, rubber bullets, internet blackouts, and tear gas.

A fight between the farmers and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is being avoided in anticipation of later this year’s elections.

As an associate professor at American University in Washington, D.C., Garrett Graddy-Lovelace stated, “I think the power of farmers is frightening Modi and the BJP government.”

She went on, “They are a powerful political force.”

Farmers claim that instead of requesting subsidies, they are only seeking a reasonable price that would allow them to make a 50% profit above their cost of production.

Graddy-Lovelace stated that “the urgency of staying on the land depends upon a fair price so they can stay on their land and keep nourishing the people.”

Approximately 66% of India’s 1.4 billion inhabitants work as farmers.

They were dependent on a minimum support price—a price at which the government promises to purchase excess crop at the conclusion of the harvest—for their harvests for many years. Historically, state governments have only purchased wheat and rice at set prices.

However, the government let corporate purchasers, who deal directly with the farmers, into the marketplaces in 2020.

Graddy-Lovelace commented, “On paper, it looked good.” However, “the farmers knew that the buyers would drive the price down to nothing if they were dealing directly with the buyer.”

The government was ultimately compelled to revoke the new farm regulations after months of protests and deadly altercations with officials in New Delhi. This was perceived as one of Modi’s biggest electoral setbacks since he assumed office in 2014.

Graddy-Lovelace called it a “extraordinary victory” that “pushes back against a whole kind of global paradigm that free trade works for farmers,” in addition to being a win for India.

However, the farmers claim that since the government has not fulfilled its pledges following that altercation, Singh and others have had to go far from home in an attempt to obtain improvements.

“Concerns among farmers are valid”

The struggles faced by farmers are not limited to India.

Farmers around the European Union claim they are facing increased living and production expenses, tax increases, and the weight of new environmental regulations, all of which make them less competitive with lower-priced imports from outside.

Governments have made a “huge number of political commitments… to reduce greenhouse gases,” according to Hegadorn.

Farmers over the Continent have come together in protest over the past few months. Farmers have attempted to place their demand for reforms at the forefront of the June European Union parliamentary elections by honking their horns and, in some cases, dumping manure at government buildings in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, and Greece.

They claim that one significant problem is the onerous red tape associated with the numerous laws that are necessary in order to receive the subsidies that farmers throughout Europe rely on.

“It’s very bureaucratic. Arnold Puech, the president of the World Farmers Organization and a farmer of cattle and poultry in the Normandy region of northern France, stated, “You have to pay an accountant and a lawyer to counsel you. Even the slightest error in paperwork or during farm inspections can attract a large fine, he said.

“My spouse dedicates her entire day to working on these administrative duties in front of the computer,” he stated.

In addition, protestors argue that the EU’s Green Deal, which aims to combat climate change, is too expensive and should be abandoned. Farmers in the two largest agricultural producing nations in Europe, Germany and France, are incensed over the increase in diesel prices resulting from the elimination of subsidies and tax benefits.

Politicians throughout the Continent have pledged to reduce rules and lessen the burden on farmers in response to the demonstrations. However, there has also been resistance to the farmers’ efforts to change Europe’s strategy.

Despite making up only 1.4% of the European Union’s GDP in 2022, the agriculture sector in Europe is mostly responsible for the continent’s greenhouse gas emissions. This is why environmentalists argue that stricter restrictions are needed to combat climate change.

The head of the Institute for European Environmental Policy’s land use and climate program, Julia Bognar, stated that “farmers’ concerns are real.”

“Yet, a long-term plan is required for the agriculture sector to shift toward more environmentally friendly methods,” the speaker stated.

The bargaining power farmers used to have has weakened, Bognar said, pushing them to use measures that ultimately have “negative environmental impacts.”

“In order to provide positive incentives toward mitigation actions, funding must be sufficient and stable,” she continued.

There are worries that the far-right parties, who are predicted to gain ground in the summer’s elections across Europe, as well as the Kremlin, are taking advantage of the demonstrations by farmers.

Ukraine, often referred to as Europe’s breadbasket, has long been dependent on its own agricultural sector. As part of its efforts to support Kyiv amid Russia’s war, the E.U. has exempted the country from import duties, which has led to agricultural products not bound by the E.U.’s costly environmental standards flooding the Continent.

That has infuriated farmers, who are now competing not only with local rivals but also with Ukrainian imports that are simply cheaper than what they can produce.

This month, thousands of farmers and supporters marched through Warsaw, asking that Poland close its border with Ukraine in order to stop imports. In front of parliament, they set out smoke bombs in the national flag’s white and red hues, blew horns, and hurled stones at law enforcement, wounding multiple officers.

The Polish government blamed unspecified “provocateurs and troublemakers” for the violence, as opposed to “real farmers” whose complaints it has pledged to address.

There have been some protests in Poland with banners supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin and criticizing Ukraine, which has caused anxiety in Warsaw and others that Moscow is trying to use historical grievances to inflame hostility to European support for Ukraine.

Tensions between the governments of Kyiv and Warsaw, which has been a strong supporter of Ukraine, have increased as a result of the protests.

A decision to impose further restrictions on the entry of Ukrainian farm products was agreed by the EU on Wednesday.

However, it appears that the fundamental problems are not going to go away anytime soon, and governments across the world—from Europe to India—will need to find solutions to those alarming problems.