500 tractors set to protest rising farming costs in Madrid
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Expresso das Ilhas
Spanish agricultural organisations plan to parade 500 tractors through Madrid to denounce rising production costs and call for public support. The demonstration is due to end outside the Ministry of Agriculture, according to Expresso das Ilhas, which says the protest is being called a month before the 29 November elections.
Three major Spanish agricultural associations have announced a demonstration in Madrid involving 500 tractors on Wednesday to protest rising production costs and demand public measures, Expresso das Ilhas reports.
The convoy is due to cross the city centre from 11am local time before gathering outside the Ministry of Agriculture. Further farmers’ demonstrations are planned in different cities on Saturday, called by smaller organisations.
The associations are calling, among other things, for reduced and stable taxation on agricultural diesel, as well as electricity tariffs suited to irrigation and livestock farming. They also want less paperwork under the European Union’s Common Agricultural Policy and a sufficient budget for the 2028-2034 period. They also denounce what they consider unfair competition from the EU’s trade agreements, including the one with Mercosur, which comprises Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Spain’s Ministry of Agriculture considers the mobilisation to have a political dimension, a month before the snap parliamentary elections scheduled for 29 November. The government says it has mobilised more than €1 billion in support for the sector since the start of the conflict in the Middle East and points to the 2024 agreement covering 43 measures to ease Common Agricultural Policy rules.
