Farmers Blocking Berlin Roads to Protest Gov’t Policies

Thousands of farmers descended on Berlin from the countryside Tuesday, blocking traffic in the capital with their tractors in protest over the German government’s agricultural policies.

Before dawn, some 1,800 tractors from the surrounding state of Brandenburg started their way into the city, and others were to follow from further afield, with 5,000 in total expected along with 10,000 farmers.

The farmers claim new environmental limits being planned are overly restrictive and that the government is making it impossible for domestic agriculture to compete against imports, among other things.

“7.5 billion people; 200 million can feed themselves as hunters and gatherers. The rest need farmers,” read one banner, while others simply stated: “No farmers, no food” and “We fill you up.”

The tractors were gathering at the landmark Brandenburg Gate in the heart of the capital, blocking wide areas of the city with slow-moving convoys on the way in with a plan to cause more disruptions on their way out at rush hour.

Brandenburg police reported two accidents caused by cars trying to pass the lines of tractors on their way into the city.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet in September decided on a series of proposals including tighter restrictions on the use of pesticides and herbicides to protect insects, and on fertilizers to protect groundwater.

The country’s environment minister, Svenja Schulze, said the government is willing to talk to farmers but insisted that they, too, need to play their part in protecting the environment.

“Farmers need to be part of the solution,” she told reporters in Berlin, citing the excessive levels of fertilizer in drinking water and the dramatic decline in insect numbers as issues that farmers should be concerned about.

Farmers’ leaders say the government should work with them and conservation groups to find ways to protect the environment while preserving the competitiveness of farms.