Farmer protests: the wrong U-turn

The author contends that recent farmer protests in Europe and India stem from systemic issues including unfair trade agreements, corporate price-gouging, and a subsidy system that favors large-scale industrial farming. The document criticizes the European Commission's decision to scrap pesticide targets and loosen environmental requirements, arguing that these 'U-turns' ignore the root causes of farmer distress. Instead, the author proposes a 'just transition' that includes a carbon border adjustment mechanism for agriculture, a rethink of the Mercosur trade deal, and a CAP that rewards environmental stewardship over land ownership.

• The European Commission has responded to farmer protests by removing environmental protections, including scrapping plans to reduce pesticide use and a strategy for sustainable food systems, as well as loosening labor and environmental requirements for Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies.
• Farmer incomes in the European Union are approximately 40 per cent lower than non-agricultural incomes, contributing to widespread financial instability.
• The current CAP subsidy model disproportionately benefits large-scale industrial operations, with 80 per cent of subsidies going to only 20 per cent of farmers.
• Climate-related disasters have caused significant financial losses for farmers; for instance, in 2022, floods, storms, and droughts resulted in 6 billion euros in losses and destroyed about 10 per cent of production for Italian farmers.
• The author argues that the EU's trade policy is incompatible with its environmental goals, noting that the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism currently excludes agriculture, leaving it open to 'environmental dumping' and cheap imports, such as grain from Ukraine.
• Evidence from France suggests that agroecological farming practices generally yield better economic results in the medium term compared to conventional farming.

APA

Frison, A. H. E. (2024). Farmer protests: the wrong U-turn. Green European Journal. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/farmer-protests-the-wrong-u-turn/

Chicago

Frison, Angela Hilmi, Emile. Farmer protests: the wrong U-turn. Green European Journal, 2024. https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/farmer-protests-the-wrong-u-turn/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Frison |first1=Angela Hilmi, Emile |title=Farmer protests: the wrong U-turn |publisher=Green European Journal |date=25 March 2024 |url=https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/farmer-protests-the-wrong-u-turn/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{frison2024farmer, author = {Frison, Angela Hilmi, Emile}, title = {{Farmer protests: the wrong U-turn}}, publisher = {Green European Journal}, year = {2024}, month = mar, url = {https://www.greeneuropeanjournal.eu/farmer-protests-the-wrong-u-turn/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }