Polish farmers protested on Wednesday on the A2 highway. They demand, among other things, compensations for pigs that had to be taken out due to African Swine Fever virus outbreak. Furthermore, they demand an audit of public funds received by the farmer federations, as well as a "sanation of the Farming Chambers".
On Wednesday morning, a group of farmers from the AGROunia movement entered the A2 highway near Brwinów and blocked the Warsaw-bound lane.
The information posted at the official profile of the Vegetable and Potato Growers Union reads that the AGROunia movement is demanding, among other things, compensation for pigs taken out, by an official decision, due to African Swine Fever containment, regardless of opinions taken by the veterinarians in that regard.
The farmers also want the government to take an "immediate, realistic and effective action directed at fighting the ASF virus in Poland".
In their letter, the protesting farmers are demanding a dismissal of the district chief veterinarian in Parczewo, Anna Gołacka, as well as of the Lublin Voivodeship chief veterinarian, Paweł Piotrowski and of the national Chief Veterinary Officer Paweł Niemczuk.
The AGROunia movement’s leader Michał Kołodziejczak demanded in a statement on behalf of the protesters an audit of spending public money on farming federations and other entities, as well as presenting the audit results of the Agri-Food Product Fund’s finances.
He also called for "a sanation of Farmer Chambers through changes in legislation worked out in an agreement with the farming community," reads the statement.
The protesters also want regulations that would impose the duty to mark the agri-food products with the flag of the producing country, as well as real food quality controls.
Another demand pertains to a change in foreign policy that would take into consideration the interests of family farms. The farmers also asks the government to "cease financing farming industry in countries being competition to Polish farmers and to seek chances to re-open export of Polish produce to the absorbent Eastern market".
Furthermore, the farmers want "guaranteeing Poland’s food safety throughout an effective protection of Polish farming production and by reinstating the rules of fair trade".
In the last point on their list of demands, the farmers want the government to "back out from supporting the regulations aimed at curbing the freedom of speech and communication in the internet".
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 International, PAP
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: tvn24