The countryside needs solutions that do not fall into chauvinism

Highlights: The countryside needs solutions that do not fall into chauvinism. The solution is not protectionism, much less boycotts. Agriculture is fundamental both from a strategic and emotional point of view. The answer is not to close the borders or deny the evidence of climate change, which Spain is already suffering, but to find a balance between the necessary decarbonization and the survival of activities on which the increasingly abandoned rural environment depends. The protection that the field needs cannot be at odds with measures of sustainability, efficiency and respect for the environment.

The protests of Spanish and European farmers respond to the crisis of a sector that, after decades of giving ground in favor of services, is subject to multiple...

UNDER REGISTRATION

Updated Saturday, February 3, 2024-00:07

The protests of Spanish and European farmers respond to the crisis of a sector that, after decades of giving ground in favor of services, is subject to multiple pressures. In recent years, climate catastrophes such as droughts, floods or torrential rains have devastated different areas of the continent and have added to the rise in energy prices and inflation. The frustration of many farmers and ranchers is understandable. However, the solutions

Simplistic and populist policies, such as those that have led French farmers and truckers to attack the Spanish, only aggravate a problem that will have to be addressed at several levels, from alleviating bureaucracy to promoting excellent production.

Rural unrest over rising costs and new EU environmental standards flared last year in countries like Holland and Germany,

to explode during the last weeks in France

. In Spain, the main agricultural organizations announced yesterday, after meeting with the minister

Luis Planas

, who will maintain their mobilizations. Meanwhile, in Brussels, some 1,500 tractors laid siege to the European neighborhood to demand a legislative pause, restrictions on free trade and more aid. Both the president of the Commission,

Ursula von der Leyen

, like the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, have shown themselves open to simplifying the procedures, which would undoubtedly relieve a sector drowned by paperwork.

At its core lies the challenge of the ecological transition, a necessary transformation that should be carried out without leaving anyone behind. An excessive pace

can backfire by exacerbating chauvinist and far-right sentiments

, a few months before the European elections. States and authorities should control their speeches to avoid falling into grotesque positions like that of the French socialist

Ségolene Royal

, which has without arguments disqualified Spanish organic products, whose quality is beyond any doubt. In a globalized world, the solution is not protectionism, much less boycotts.

Agriculture is fundamental both from a strategic and emotional point of view, as it is linked to landscapes and customs that have structured our identity for generations. This emotional aspect is precisely what the extreme right exploits. The answer is not to close the borders or deny the evidence of climate change, which Spain is already suffering, but to find a balance between the necessary decarbonization and the survival of activities on which the increasingly abandoned rural environment depends. The protection that the field needs

cannot be at odds with measures of sustainability, efficiency and respect for the environment

The countryside needs solutions that do not fall into chauvinism

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