Nine in ten EU farmers dissatisfied with political response to protests, survey shows

Irish Examiner

5 days ago

The unhappiness that drove hundreds of thousands of protesting EU farmers onto the streets a year and a half ago has not gone away.
But fewer than one in five said there was a meaningful response to their protests in agricultural policies or financial support, in a recent survey of 2,000 EU farmers.
More than one in three (36%) are "very likely" to protest again, in the nine countries where the survey took place (including Ireland). A further 19% are "likely" to protest again. Just over one in three (35%) are "rather unlikely" or "very unlikely" to protest.
What do they want? Their number one priority shared in all nine countries is simplifying the administrative overload. Economic support, whether through better profit margins, or lighter taxes, is also seen as a high priority.
In the survey, one third of farmers in France, Germany, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands expressed the need to maintain their crop protection methods.
Low market prices and high expenses are the farmer's complaint across the EU, but especially in Italy and Spain. French farmers are more particularly concerned about cash flow, whereas in Germany the administrative workload is the top issue.
The end of fuel subsidies drove farmers in France to protest in January 2024 as well as issues around pay, tax and regulations. File photo: Bertrand Guay/AFP
Irish, Dutch and Belgian farmers seemed less impacted by the selling or buying prices, and were more concerned about the administrative workload, and European regulations. Romanian and Polish farmers were more impacted by weather events, on top of the prices.
Farmer protests were in the EU news headlines at the end of 2023 and early in 2024. The protesters reflected general dissatisfaction over tighter environmental regulations, inflation, and unfair competition from non-EU countries.
The end of fuel subsidies in France and Germany, pressure to reduce livestock emissions in the Netherlands, and droughts and water restrictions in Spain, Greece, and France, were the last straws for many, driving them to public protest.
In February, 2024, Irish farmers showed solidarity with farmers across Europe by joining IFA's 'Enough is Enough' protest campaign.
The state of affairs one year on has now been investigated in a survey by the Ipsos international market research company, commissioned by CropLife Europe, which represents the crop protection industry.
The survey, carried out in March and April, included 275 farmers in Poland, 255 in France, 253 in Germany, 251 in Spain, 230 in Italy, 226 in Romania, 174 in The Netherlands, 169 in Ireland, and 165 in Belgium.
Farmers warm themselves around a fire as they gather for a protest outside the European Parliament in February 2024. File photo: AP/Omar Havana
The results highlight that nearly all farmers feel unsupported by political institutions, especially when it comes to accessing modern technologies they need to farm sustainably and competitively.
Despite the media attention during the protests, and public sympathy, farmers now report little concrete change in agriculture policy or income, with 91% dissatisfied with the political response at EU and national levels.
Key findings include 69% saying their income is insufficient to sustain their businesses. Farmers say cutting red tape and simplifying compliance processes would free up valuable time and resources on the farm.
Over 50% are concerned about the long-term outlook for farming, calling for fairer profit distribution across the food chain. One in five say they plan to stop farming within the next five years.
Limited and reducing access to bio-pesticides, bio-technology, and precision agriculture tools is holding back progress, said the farmers.
Countries worst hit by environmental constraints in the past year seemed to be Spain (69% of farmers) and Poland (71%). Tougher competition with non-EU produce was reported by 68% on average across nine member states, but up to 76% in Spain, and 74% in Poland.
Administrative workload getting worse in the past year seemed a particular problem in Belgium (71%), and the Netherlands (81%).
Nearly half (46%) of European farmers are pessimistic about their situation today, and only 24% expressed any optimism, in the survey. Pessimism seemed highest in Spain (61%), optimism in Ireland (61%). In other words, 50% are more optimistic in Ireland than in the next most optimistic member state (Romania).
Only 25% of Irish farmers in the survey said they participated in last year's protests, the lowest proportion of the nine countries surveyed. The highest was 71% in both Germany and Spain.
Farmers are quite willing to protest again, with one third being very likely to do so, especially in Spain, where discontent is higher. In France and Germany, the farmers are much more divided.
As in Spain, Polish farmers have quite a high intention to protest again, but Romanian, Irish, Belgian and Dutch farmers are less likely to protest.
Farmers say they got very little real return from protests. Nevertheless, most said protesting improved public perception of farmers, and they felt "heard" in the media, and "seen" by the general population.
Only 42% of Polish farmers said this was the outcome, but 67% in Ireland agreed that protests improved public perception of farmers, and 48% in Ireland felt heard in the media and seen by the general population.
Dutch farmers seemed particularly happy with the return from protesting, with 57% saying it improved public perception, 41% feeling "heard in the media and seen by the general population", 41% saying policymakers started to listen and engage more with farmers, 35% saying it was impactful in changing policies in Europe and their country, and 43% saying protesting obtained significant and meaningful results.
But only 10% of Dutch farmers said protesting gained them financial compensation or advantages. That was the case for 12% across the EU, on average, but there were notable exceptions, in Romania and Ireland.
In Romania, 26% reported financial compensation or advantages gained, along with 27% in Ireland. However, in Ireland at least, agricultural economists would probably point to improved livestock markets for the better farming outcome in 2025, rather than to protests.
Among the general unhappiness, Irish farmers responded slightly more positively when asked about administrative workload (6% saw improvement, compared to an EU average of 2%).
Generally, young farmers in the survey were more positive and hopeful. However, they reported difficulties finding help with with peak farming workloads.
Overall, two out of three European farmers say they do not have enough money to invest in new tools or machines, or to allow them sell their goods at the correct prices.
More than one third (35%) of farmers aged 55 or over planned to quit farming in the next five years. Irish and Dutch farmers were clearly less inclined to leave soon, with less than 10% of farmers planning to leave in the next five years.
Farmers want to quit mainly for retirement (in France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands) or economical reasons (Spain, Poland, and Romania).
A farmers' protest in Greece in February 2025 where droughts and water restrictions were the last straws for many farmers. Picture: Konstantinos Tsakalidis / SOOC / SOOC via Getty Images.
Farmers were asked about the reducing access to crop protection products. The survey results indicated that conventional pesticides remains the No 1 choice in most countries.
Sampling for the survey was weighted on acreages rather than number of farmers in the nine countries. Weighting on the number of farmers would have given a too high voice to Romania and Poland, where small family farms are still numerous.
As a result of the acreage weighting, the countries with the biggest say were France (24%), Spain (21%), Germany (14%), Poland (13%), Romania (11%), and Italy (10%).
Those surveyed were 69% farm owners, 21% farm co-owners, and 10% farm managers. Their farms averaged 267 hectares. The main farm enterprises were cereals for 38%, dairy or beef for 22%, and vineyards, fruit production or other permanent crops for 13%.