Farm Unions Rally Across Seventeen Regions to Demand Fair Prices and Policy Reforms
Major agricultural organizations in Spain, including the main unions ASaja, COAG, and UPA, organized a widespread set of demonstrations on Wednesday across up to 13 provinces, extending from Seville and Malaga to Burgos, Valladolid, Santiago de Compostela, Toledo, Cuenca, Palencia, Soria, Guadalajara, Granada, and Madrid. In Madrid, a notable gathering took place at Mercamadrid without tractors. This breadth marks the largest simultaneous action to date by the sector’s leading associations. Farmers hope the broad media attention will strengthen their bargaining position with the government. On Thursday, representatives from the agricultural sector will meet with the agriculture minister, Luis Planas, following nine days of mobilizations. Insiders from the organizations indicate prior talks with the national government and regional authorities, and they plan to keep up demonstrations throughout the month unless concrete measures improve field workers’ conditions, who are contending with rising costs and bureaucratic hurdles.
The major farming groups have consistently distance themselves from the online-driven protests that have been amplified by the Platform 6-F. Andoni García, head of COAG’s organizational wing, stated that they defend the interests of all farmers taking part but do not share some of the methods or messages used by the Platform 6-F. Jesús Anchuelo, the regional secretary of the Union of Small Farmers, echoed the same sentiment and stressed that unlike 6-F, their mobilizations are formally organized and communicated to authorities. He added that Thursday will be a crucial display of their strength, while García praised the positive response from base members during the actions.
The core demand from farmers centers on securing fair prices that make family farming viable, a model especially common in regions like the Community of Madrid. They also urge enforcement of the Food Chain Law by all institutions, with tighter inspections and penalties that genuinely protect the sector. On Wednesday, the Food Chain Observatory will hold its regular session to monitor the sector. The leaders of the main organizations warn that protests will continue as long as necessary, aiming toward the European elections in June and a formal, written commitment from the government to address field issues.
Meanwhile, the unions ASaja, COAG, UPA, and cooperative groups have announced plans to effectively shut down Sevilla on Wednesday, blocking five key entry and exit arteries to the city as part of protests over the sector’s grave situation in Spain. The roadblocks will begin at 10:00 a.m. at six points across the province, with demonstrations both on foot and with tractors. They will coincide with an agricultural stoppage intended to halt all field activity and visually express farmers’ discontent with the directions of agricultural policy, particularly concerns about the Common Agricultural Policy (PAC).
Farmers in the region will assemble from nine in the morning at six assembly points before moving to the sites slated for road closures: the AP-4 linking Sevilla and Cádiz at Los Palacios; the A-49 between Sevilla and Huelva near Benacazón; the A-92 between Sevilla and Huelva near Estepa; the A-4 between Sevilla and Madrid at Carmona; the A-92 between Sevilla and Málaga near Puebla de Cazalla; and the A-66 between Sevilla and Mérida near Alcalá del Río. They warn that protests could last as long as needed, with a view toward the June European elections, until a serious, public, written government commitment is achieved, as several ministries must participate in any viable solution for the countryside.
Among the grievances highlighted, certain claims are deemed non-negotiable. Foremost is the abolition of the digital notebook to reduce bureaucracy, the introduction of mirror clauses to ensure fair competition with imported products from third countries, and a revision of the European Green Deal to support an economic balance that recognizes production costs and prices alongside environmental considerations. The agricultural groups argue that the market has been flooded with citrus and cereals from other countries without equivalent plant health guarantees or border controls on EU-authorized quotas.
They also demand a national emergency plan that includes changes to tax and labor laws affecting farming, strict adherence to the Food Chain Law, and financial aid to combat drought, among other measures. The sector argues that these steps are essential to safeguard the sustainability of family-run farms and to preserve rural livelihoods across the country, with the conversation clearly extending to how these policies will influence both price stability and economic viability for farmers moving forward.