SPPK: If Farmers Aren't Taken Seriously, They Will Be Seen in Streets More Often
If farmers' demands are not taken seriously, they will be seen in the streets more often, Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber chairman Emil Macho told a news conference held in front of the Parliament's building on Thursday.
Bratislava, February 22 (TASR) - If farmers' demands are not taken seriously, they will be seen in the streets more often, Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) chairman Emil Macho told a news conference held in front of the Parliament's building on Thursday.
According to Macho, every political leadership over the past 30 years treated the agricultural and food sector as a necessary evil.
"Several political leaderships have succeeded each over in parliament over 30 years. Every single one of them, which has been in power since 1993, has taken Slovakia's agricultural and food industry as a necessary evil. They focused more on Slovakia producing cars and steel," specified Macho.
The SPPK chief stated that Slovak agriculture wants to be a firm part of the national economy. "It will be hard to fix the mistakes that were made in the food and agriculture industry in the past. There are no short, only long-term solutions. We need a dialogue, we need politicians to listen to us," he underlined.
A convoy of protesting farmers stopped their tractors in front of the residence of the European Commission's (EC) Representation in Slovakia on Thursday, with the Slovak Agriculture and Food Chamber (SPPK) presenting its demands and handing them over to the representation. According to Macho, farmers reject the strict environmental restrictions of the EU, growing red tape and the liberalisation of farm commodity imports from third countries. They also demand that direct subsidies should be paid out as soon as possible. Farmers want to produce and not to be clerks, stated Macho.
SPPK organised protests by farmers across Slovakia on Thursday. According to Macho, more than 2,200 tractors and 4,000 farmers took to the streets. "We are doing this primarily for the sake of people, for us, for our children, for the sake of the generation that will come after us, so that not only Slovakia, but the whole of Europe will be able to feed its population with healthy, high-quality food," said Macho.
