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It’s been over a year since farmers across the continent blocked roads with tractors and filled streets in one of the biggest agriculturally motivated protests in recent years. Their grievances? That trade with countries outside of the European Union, alongside low food prices and new environmental regulations, were irreparably impacting their businesses.
Protests had been building across the continent towards the end of 2023, but came to a head in early 2024 when farmers from multiple countries turned out en masse to demonstrate. In Poland 260 major roads were blocked, in Germany roughly 6,600 farmers gathered in Berlin (followed by demonstrations in cities across the country) and in Spain approximately 2,000 filled the streets of Barcelona. The Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland also saw widespread disruption.
They were spurred by elements of the ‘From Farm to Fork’ strategy of the European Green Deal, the Mercosur agreement, the phasing out of tax breaks and decreasing level of income.
This month, CropLife Europe released a 93-page survey in partnership with IPSOS and Euronews outlining how farmers from across the continent are feeling about their industry and its future. Have their complaints been resolved or are they on the brink of more demonstrations?
The report interviewed nearly 2,000 farm owners and co-owners from nine countries: France, Germany, Romania, Poland, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Ireland, and responses were weighted by acreage per country. The survey’s specific objectives were to find out how satisfied farmers feel today, how they viewed the EU’s actions following their protests and what they think the future looks like for them.
Here’s what we learned about the state of Europe’s farming industry.
The majority of farmers are disappointed by lawmakers’ response to the protests
European farmers were extremely active in last year’s protests, with half of all survey respondents confirming they’d taken part. In Germany, Spain and the Netherlands, participation reached as much as two thirds, while in France, Italy, Romania and Ireland numbers were more reserved, with approximately 30-40% participating.
The visuals of the demonstrations – tractors blocking roads, farmers shaking placards beneath historic sites – were striking, and 40% of survey respondents agreed that the protests improved perception of their industry and successfully grabbed the media and the public’s attention.
Despite this, the vast majority of farm owners were disappointed with the effectiveness of the protests, with just 16% feeling that they had any impact – a sentiment largely down to a lack of policy reform from local authorities and the EU.
Only 3% of respondents agreed that authorities’ responses ‘very much exceeded [their] expectations’ while an overwhelming 89% confirmed the reactions from lawmakers had been either ‘somewhat below’ or ‘very much below’ their expectations.
Staggeringly, positive responses never even reached double figures. Italian farmers were the most disillusioned, with only 1% agreeing the authorities’ actions had exceeded expectations. Even in more optimistic Romania, only 9% of farmers chose this option.
Ultimately, over 90% of farmers are dissatisfied by local and European political actions.
Farmers are worse off today than a year ago
Perhaps unsurprisingly, farm owners aren’t feeling particularly optimistic about the state of their industry today.
When asked how their situation compares to this time last year, many feel they are in a worse state, attributing this to competition from low cost imports originating outside of the EU (68%), increased taxes (61%) and a heavier administrative workload (61%).
In France, Germany, Spain and Italy, 42-61% of farmers reported feeling pessimistic about the state of their farms, that’s at least double – but in some cases, quadruple – the amount of farmers feeling positive about their situation.
Reasons for this negative sentiment vary by country but common threads were rising costs and expenses, and excessive taxation. Other concerns focussed on market restrictions and controls, low workforce and problems associated with expanding upon it.
In the last year, the majority of farmers believe that their economic situation and well-being have declined. 55% believe their salary has worsened in the last twelve months and 58% think their capacity to invest has declined.
Farming financial difficulties felt across the board
A marked finding from the survey is that the financial outlook for many European farmers is looking bleak.
Two-thirds of the surveyed owners do not consider themselves as having enough money to invest in new tools or machinery, nor to sell their produce at the correct price. Almost 70% of all the farmers vetted believe the price they receive for their products does not allow for a sufficient profit margin.
Perhaps more alarmingly, nearly 60% (58%) don’t believe their paycheck allows them to meet their household needs, and they wouldn’t refer to their income as ‘decent’. Only half think they can repay their current business-related loans and debts.
Generally, all the farmers from canvassed countries feel pessimistic about their future in farming. Only owners in the Netherlands have a slightly brighter outlook with 40% feeling somewhat optimistic against 31% feeling pessimistic. Conversely Spanish farmers registered as 12% optimistic and 64% pessimistic, and French farmers 16% and 55% respectively.
A fifth of farmers to stop farming in the next five years
With over half of European farmers feeling negatively about their future, it’s clear that urgent reform is needed within the agricultural industry.
Right now, a fifth of all farmers canvassed plans to stop farming in the next five years, with 5% looking to quit within twelve months.
While the majority of reasons were personal – 64% of farmers cited retirement and medical issues as incentives (retirement was the primary reason in France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands, though considering 44% of the participants were over 55-years-old, this isn’t too shocking) – 54% said their leaving was motivated by industry-related issues.
These included income shortfall and rising land prices as well as environmental troubles such as lack of water, soil deterioration and the ability to tackle pests and diseases.
Many farmers also noted that the availability of crop protection solutions is dire, with a third of owners confirming they find accessing standard protections such as pesticides hard to come by.
Modern-day agricultural tools such as biotech seeds and biological pesticides are also seen as difficult to source – as are drones and autonomous equipment, due to cost and regulatory hurdles.
Without reform farmers will protest again
Following the lack of action from authorities after last year’s protests, farmers are calling for specific action, namely addressing administrative overload and the need for economic support in the form of better margin redistribution in the value chain or lighter taxes.
82% of farmers are calling for fairer redistribution, tax breaks, and streamlined access to subsidies, while 57% want simpler regulations and reduced administrative burdens. 1 in 3 urge greater support for research, innovation, and access to an effective crop protection toolbox.
Without these changes, farmers are quite willing to protest again with one third being very likely to do so, and more than half likely to do so. This sentiment is particularly strong in Spain and Poland where discontent is higher.
