In Szczecin, a protest of farmers began, who consider themselves deceived by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. First of all, we are talking about the release of grain from Ukraine. The protesters demand talks with Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Jarosław Kaczynski.
- Firstly, we will symbolically go to the gates of the Szczecin shipyard and lay flowers there. As the shipyard was liquidated, so now we are threatened with liquidation - This was announced on March 22 for Wprost by Eduard Kosmal, deputy chairman of the West Pomeranian Voivodship Council of the NSPZ of individual farmers “Solidarity”. According to Kosmal, at least several dozen tractors were supposed to enter the city.
And so it happened. On March 23, about 90 tractors and, according to the organizers themselves, about 500 farmers appeared on the streets of Szczecin. They shouted out their demands and had very clear expectations.
The farmers are protesting. They demand a meeting with Yaroslav Kaczynski
Tractors went first to the shipyard, and then to the Voivodship office for transfer to the petitioned governor. The peasants shouted: peasants together! “We do not want such a Union.” They also chanted the name of Andrzej Lepper. They demand a meeting with Prime Minister Morawiecki and Jarosław Kaczynski. “We don’t want to talk to Minister Kowalczyk any more. Maybe Mr. Kaczynski doesn’t know what our situation is? Maybe no one tells him? Let him meet us protesters said.
– Such negotiations should be held, and competent people should come to us, in Szczecin, to resolve our issues – said meeting chairman Stanislav Barna from NSZZ Solidarność. - We agree that the war in Ukraine is evil, in our time there should be no war, that people are dying, children are dying, we express solidarity with Ukraine. But we cannot afford to have a Pole peasant plowed, and this is happening - added.
Farmers feel cheated
The gathered agrarians also referred to the persuasion of the authorities since the beginning of the crisis, related to the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
Damian Vilgus is one of the protesting farmers. He came to Szczecin from Lobezi. – I have 500 tons of grain in my warehouse. It was Minister Kowalczyk who urged us to leave the grain. Now what? We’ll be bankrupt soon speaks. He also points out that they were persuaded to buy fertilizer. – Today it is known that there will be a lot of fertilizers, and the price for them is much lower than six months ago. – We hope that our losses will average PLN 2.5 thousand per hectare – said the farmers who had gathered for the protest.
Zbigniew Sokolowski is a retired farmer near Choszczno. “I came because I can no longer see what is happening. Polish grain is worth a penny on the market - speaks. Everyone is talking about the problem of Ukrainian grain. “It’s always been called a farm-to-table policy. Now we have a policy from the Ukrainian field to the Polish table - the peasants who had gathered on the Chrobrego Walls were ironic.
Members join the protest
We asked PSL MP Yaroslav Zepa, who was present at the shipyard, to comment. – Today, farmers who want to sell grain, firstly, because they have a very low price, and secondly, because no one will necessarily want to buy from them. The situation in agriculture is beginning to deteriorate, and the rulers today say that it is very good. The reality here on the street is different - the parliamentarian said.
Does it make sense to protest? I believe that only stubbornness can change something and make you look for solutions, but look realistically. Let the minister say nothing on TV, but let the concrete decision give the farmers the feeling that something has really been done in this topic - added.
Government spokesman responds to farmers’ accusations
Government spokesman Petr Muller was also asked about this at the press conference. - It is not true that nothing has been done in this area. A grain subsidy program has been prepared and adopted by the Council of Ministers a few weeks ago. It will be expanded from what was originally accepted - He said.
- As for the issue of filling the silos, we discussed it at the last government presidium. Prime Minister Kowalczyk has prepared the decisions and will communicate them shortly. I can assure you that the problem will be solved thanks to these solutions - added a government spokesman.
Source: Wprost
I am George Brown, author at Daily News Hack. I mostly cover economy news and I have been doing this for quite some time now. I have a lot of experience in this field and I’m always looking for new opportunities to learn more.
