Czech Farmers Preparing Four-Day Protest in Prague With 1,000 Tractors

Hundreds of dissatisfied Czech farmers are preparing to join in the ongoing farmers’ protests around Europe against EU policy and the Green Deal.

Thousand of tractors are expected to take part in the protest ride on Monday, February 19.

The protest is to be centred around Prague’s Malostranske square and may last for several days. Some agricultural organizations and the Czech Chamber of Agriculture have distanced themselves from the protest saying they want to negotiate with the government first.

The organizers will ask for the resignation of the current government and withdraw from the so-called Green Deal, a pan-European agreement targeting climate neutrality by 2050, which organizers argue would significantly impact agricultural production.

According to Jandejsek, a spokesperson for the movement, addressing the subsidy policy, labor imbalances in the European market, and the energy crisis, where despite a surplus of energy production, the Czech Republic faces some of the highest energy costs in Europe, are pivotal issues.

“The Green Deal is a disaster and the Agrarian Chamber is not doing anything about it,” added Jandejsek. “When the government accedes to our demand, there will be peace for a while. If not, we will strike like in Germany”.

The Agrarian Chamber of the Czech Republic and the Agricultural Union have opted to distance themselves from the protests for now, preferring to await proposed government solutions by March 1, 2024.

The Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (ČMKOS) is also distancing itself from the upcoming protest. “Nobody contacted or consulted us. I have not been informed about the protests either by the organizers or by anyone else,” said union chief Josef Středula.

Like elsewhere in Europe, Czech farmers are protesting against falling sale prices, rising costs and heavy regulation. Jandejsek said their main demand is that the government withdraw from the Green Deal, a Europe-wide agreement that aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.