Curiosity sparked what unfolded as a bus-loaded group of visitors stood before a line of idle tractors on a Madrid road. A traveler from East Asia whispered that this scene was forbidden in his homeland, a moment that would be echoed by hundreds of tourists arriving at Madrid’s Atocha station, opposite the Ministry of Agriculture. Outside, thousands of farmers and ranchers from across Spain gathered to protest, as organizations COAG, UPA, and Asaja prepared to meet with the minister, Luis Planas. Their aim was to address long-standing demands from the agricultural sector, voiced for days as protests spread, though organizers warned that the action should not be expected to end immediately.
The meeting between the official farm groups and the minister had been scheduled for 11 in the morning, but organizers later indicated it might take place in the afternoon. Pablo Rincón, secretary-general of Asaja in Segovia and the organizer of the protest, described the setting as a place where significant agricultural policies are shaped in Spain. He noted that while bringing thirty or forty tractors into the Ministry is challenging, the protest would still be visible and impactful.
From Avila, Jesús Menéndez, a retired dryland farmer, had joined one of three buses traveling to Madrid to support his colleagues. He explained his intention to continue working elsewhere, as his children had pursued different paths. Kiko Ambrona, still active as a cattle farmer, had left Monesterio at four in the morning to join the gathering and spoke about the heavy bureaucratic burden facing small producers, warning that without reforms, smaller organizations risk disappearing.
During the afternoon gathering, the three agricultural associations planned to address several issues, including the flexibility of the Common Agricultural Policy, the unfair competition posed by food imports outside the European Union, the excessive administrative load on farmers, and prices that fail to cover production costs.
This gathering was not the first to involve government and farm groups. A previous meeting had taken place the prior week, and another was held midweek under the auspices of the Food Chain Observatory. Following that session, the Ministry asked farmers and ranchers to report any misconduct through the farming organizations or regional authorities to protect whistleblowers who raise concerns about market practices. Farmers have noted the difficulty in proving costs and exposure to potential retaliation by intermediaries, urging authorities to take action on its own initiative rather than waiting for individual complaints to compile sufficient evidence.
Historical data show that from 2014 to 2022 the market watchdog AICA completed 6,717 inspections ex officio, while only 405 complaints were filed. In 2022, the last year with publicly available records and already under the reform of the Food Chain Law, there were 929 ex officio inspections and 78 complaints. Beyond more inspections, farmers have called for greater staffing, an analysis of the value chain, and the creation of a margins observatory, measures they believe would strengthen transparency and accountability across the sector.
At the latest gathering, the minister introduced a new tool designed to provide data on surface area, production, revenue, costs, and technical results for farms that make up the sample, segmented by crop and livestock activity. The tool also tracks cost trends and margins over time and has been welcomed by the farmers’ organizations as a potential improvement for cost and margin analysis, though technical reviews are still pending.
In addition to those developments, the group has regarded the remarks from the agriculture commissioner as a positive signal. Janusz Wojciechowski supported the idea that governments could grant public aid to offset inflation for farmers and ranchers. The sense among the farming representatives is that steps are beginning, even if much remains to be done. This sentiment reflects a cautious optimism that the government is finally engaging with the fundamental issues faced by the sector, though the path forward remains uncertain and the road ahead is long. [Citation: Ministry communications and farmers’ associations reports.]