From Europe to India, farmers have taken to the streets in recent months to protest agricultural policies. First, demonstrations erupted across Europe, with farmers forming blockades, dumping manure in cities, and egging government buildings. Now, thousands of farmers have marched toward New Delhi in scenes that recall the mass protests of 2020-21.
Although the reasons for agricultural workers’ discontent differ from country to country, the ongoing unrest comes as the world’s farmers are “increasingly feeling under political attack,” Christopher Barrett, an agricultural economist, recently told FP’s Christina Lu.
This edition of Flash Points considers the root causes of the farmers’ protests, what unites them, and how climate and trade policy are transforming global agriculture.
Farmers demonstrate in Nantes, France, on May 24, 1968.AFP via Getty Images
The Enduring Power of ‘La Terre’
Why farmer protests in France are different, according to Robert Zaretsky.
French farmers drive their tractors on the A71 highway in protest over new regulations and declining incomes, near Bourges, France, on Jan. 24.Guillame Souvant/AFP via Getty Images
Europe’s Farmer Protests Are Part of a Bigger Problem
FP’s Christina Lu explains how the unrest exposes the trade-offs that governments must confront on climate policy.
Tractors of protesting farmers line a street in front of Brandenburg Gate on the first day of a week of protests in Berlin on Jan. 8. Sean Gallup/Getty Images
Germany’s Farmers Have No Reason to Complain
A nationwide protest against a move to repeal agricultural subsidies has earned public sympathy—but doesn’t deserve it, Paul Hockenos writes.
Farmers take part in a tractor rally as they continue to demonstrate against the central government’s recent agricultural reforms in New Delhi on Jan. 26, 2021. Money Sharma/AFP/Getty Images
India’s Green Revolution Sowed the Seeds of Today’s Meltdown
Farmers are protesting against more than Modi’s agricultural laws. They’ll keep going until he understands that, Kabir Agarwal writes.
Farmers gather with their tractors near the headquarters of the National Institute for Health and Environment to protest nitrogen policy rules in Bilthoven, Netherlands, on Oct. 16, 2019. ROBIN VAN LONKHUIJSEN/ANP/AFP via Getty Images
Farmers Won’t Save the Climate at Their Own Expense
Pushing farms toward a green transition could result in a big backlash, FP’s Anchal Vohra writes.