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Farmers are still Upset

Liverpool Plains farmers protest Shenhua (CC BY 2.0) by kateausburn

The governments across Europe keep announcing more money for them but the farmers are still not happy. This unease has remained essentially unchanged for decades. And yet, if we look at the EU, the financial assistance given to farmers is very significant: it can be estimated to more than € 52 billion a year. But farmers, as it is often said during their protest demonstrations, would just like to live in dignity from their work, without subsidies. For small farmers it is a very difficult living to make. They are faced with the competition from large- scale farming and multinational traders and live under the constant pressure on prices exercised by major retailers and supermarket chains. Farmers often speak out against the common agricultural policy but at the same time are calling for market regulation and support the fixing of a minimum price for milk, meat etc...Indeed, on 31 March 2015 the EU milk quota regime has come to an end. And even Swiss farmers exasperated by falling prices in the dairy and meat sectors join Brussels protests. If we had to summarize this very complicated issue, we would underline the following central point: farmers are seeking a stable income without expensive taxpayer-funded subsidies and with the goal of maintaining human-scale farms. And when France asks EU for more regulation to help struggling farmers who demand action to counter the slumping prices they get for milk and pork, it is because 35,000 of its farms could go bankrupt. World food production needs to double by 2050 in response to an increasing global population. In this tense environment all the agricultural policies will aim to help farmers to produce more food but also safe food. And 2 essential objectives will long remain relevant: modernizing the small and medium-scale farms and protect farmers from excessive price volatility.

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