Belgian farmers brought dozens of pairs of rubber boots to the European Commission building in downtown Brussels to protest against Europe’s common agricultural policy.
These boots, according to the organizers of the action, symbolize the “broken patience” of already broke small farmers, or those who will be forced to stop working, unable to compete with cheap imports or products of large producers.
“The boots on display outside the European Commission building symbolize the disappearance of peasants in Belgium. Every week 18 farms stop their activity”, – says the communiqué of the National Center for Cooperation and Development, which unites dozens of NGOs in Belgium.
According to the organizers of the action, the European Commission unfairly allocates subsidies in the agricultural sector, focusing exclusively on the size of farms. It does not take into account the nature of production and quality of products of small farmers, who bear much higher costs.