Farmers Protest Across Poland

Farmers protesting across the country are blocking roads in protest of “the death of Polish agriculture”. Farm owners stopped vehicle movement on approximately 30 key communication tracts, such as road no. 92, no. 5 and no. 25. The protesters usually blocked roads by driving tractors and by constantly crossing the street. This way, the protesters are demonstrating their discontent with the way the state are treating the agriculture industry.

They call for changes in Polish trade law so that regulations are more people-friendly and do not give leverage to big international corporations. Farmers are also not happy with the way Polish government is dealing with the issue of African Swine Fever outbreak. The let cars and other vehicles pass every 15 minutes or so. Police organised diversions.

The spokesperson for AGROunia, an association that organised the farmers protest, stressed that farmers’ problems are real and there is nowhere to else for them go. He announced that the road blockades are just the beginning of the protest. On February 6, farmers will come to Warsaw to demonstrate in front of the Presidential Palace to draw the attention of the authorities and the public opinion to the problems that Polish farmers face.

The legislators acknowledge the farmers protesters’ right to show their anger at the government, but at the same time stress that blocking roads is harming ordinary citizens and cannot be accepted. The farmers protests ended in the afternoon. Their leader, Michał Kołodziejczak, said that family farms in Poland are losing in competition with foreign oligopolists who control trade in Poland. In his opinion the government should take measures to strengthen the position of smaller agricultural producers in the country. He named the demonstration an agro-uprising.

The Minister of Agriculture Jan Krzysztof Ardanowski questions the motivation of the protesting farmers. He said that AGROunia is in fact a political organisation.