Wetin dey make farmers protest for Europe and India?

Farmers for Europe dey “expect di worst and dem dey vex”, dis na wetin dia main lobby group don tok.

Christiane Lambert, president of Copa-Cogeca, say protests bin don happun for 25 out of di 27 European states.

E represent 10 million farmers across di bloc, some of dem don make capital cities dey on stand-still, dem even clash wit police.

“First, we bin get di Covid crisis for 2020. Den prices of energy explode – energy dey very important for agriculture,” di French pig farmer tell one European Parliament committee.

“Den Russia war on Ukraine also make tins hard for us sake of trade flows, e also disturb di markets especially for poultry, eggs, grains, oil – all dis tins dey very important.”

Agriculture represent only 1.4% of di European Union GDP, but e get big political influence – especially wen tractors block important roads and dem don fix European Parliament elections for May.

Farmers say dem dey overload dem wit protocol and di way dem dey punish dem no good.

Di EU wan reduce carbon emissions, and move to ‘greener’ or more environmentally friendly future, dem dem call Green Deal.

Di European Commission, wey be di executive arm of di EU, wan reduce emissions based on 2015 levels by 90% by 2040.

Di farm protests don aleady dey successful sake of say dem don make di EU to stop some of dia plans.

Di European Commission don drop one proposal wey dem bin make to reduce di use of pesticide by half.

Laura Demurtas na di external relations officer for Club Demeter, one Paris-based food security think tank, wey also represent food industry companies.

“Di European Union want to be di leader for di green transition,” she tell BBC, she add say e dey currently treat farmers like say na dem be di “main problem”.

“What about consumers and supermarkets and dia role?”

But dis no be di only reason why farmers dey cause kasala.

"Na di businessman wey dey buy products dey always fix di price of products, and den, dem go fit buy from oda kontris wey no dey follow di same restrictions like us," 22-year-old Spanish farmer Joan Mata tell Reuters for one recent protest near Barcelona.

Farmers for Poland and Hungary also complain say di EU no dey do enough to stop cheap food imports from Ukraine.

For di western Polish city of Poznan, farmers come plenti, dem drive dia tractors thru di city, earlier dis month.

Szymon Kosmalski, one 39-year-old farmer, say na sake of farm produce wey dem dey import na im dey make dem to reduce prices to di level wey no dey allow dem to cover production costs.

Ukraine na di world’s fourth largest grain producer before di Russian invasion for 2022. To support di kontri, di EU remove tax on imports – wey surprise local pipo.

"Di goods dey enta witout control. We strongly dey against am and we dey call for quick return to di customs duties wey exist before di war and to control wetin dey come in," Mr Kosmalski tell Reuters.

Bad belle dey also come from free-trade agreements wit kontris wey dey outside di EU, especially one upcoming deal wit di Mercosur bloc wey Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay dey inside.

EU farmers say dis nations use growth hormones, antibiotics and pesticides, wey dem ban for di EU.

All eyes on Delhi

For India, even though di problems of farmers dey different, dem say di high cost of tins wey dem dey use dey cripple dem.

Dem dey ask for assured floor prices - wey dem also sabi as minimum support price or MSP - wey go allow dem to sell most of dia produce for goment-controlled wholesale markets or mandis.

Dem dey also ask goment to fulfil e promise to double farm incomes.

Wen Prime Minister Narendra Modi goment try to overhaul di sector for 2020, one tent city of farmers come up for di outskirts of Delhi, wey force am to delay for one year.

Dis latest round of farm protests dey come just months before di next general election wey Prime Minister Modi dey expected to win a third term in office.

Political groups dey try to capitalise on di farmer protests to push dia own political agendas, na wetin Patrick Schröder, one senior research fellow for di London-based Chatham House think-tank tok.

“For Germany, na di far-right AfD but fortunately, di German famers’ association distance diasef from far-right groups,” im tell BBC.

“We don also see climate deniers now wey dey put hand for social media campaigns wey relate to di ‘no farmers, no food’ slogans.”

However, Ms Demurtas dey more sceptical about di different political groups wey dey try to chook mouth for di European farm protests.

“Di protest start for Germany and den France,” she tok. “Na circle of solidarity among farmers wey don tire.”

“Di far-right want to go back 10 to 20 years but no be di solution. We get one planet, we need to come togeda.”