The Young Farmers’ Federation (FJA) has called for a "general mobilisation" of all members for Sunday and welcomed all farmers and those who work with them to join the movement.
The FJA is organising protests this Sunday in Daussoulx (Namur province), and Halle (Flemish Brabant).
The mobilisation, scheduled by the organisation representing young Walloon farmers, forms part of a rising wave of discontent observed in recent days across several European countries, including France and Germany.
The farmers are demanding a decent income, achieved through fair prices for their produce. They are criticising certain environmental measures, administrative overload, and the risks associated with free-trade agreements, such as the one currently being negotiated between the EU and the South American countries in the Mercosur bloc.
The young farmers are primarily focusing on issues that directly impact them, such as access to land and the succession of agricultural businesses.
International farmers association 'Boerenforum' gathers for a protest at the MR headquarters, in Brussels on Friday 26 January 2024. Credit: Belga / Dirk Waem
"The average age of farm managers is 55, only one in five above the age of 50 has a successor lined up, and 40% know they will not have one," the FJA stated.
To express their frustration with a system they believe is "upside down", young Walloon farmers have been turning traffic signs at entrances and exits of towns throughout Wallonia.
The FJA is planning to conduct further actions throughout the coming week.
On Friday, around 40 farmers demonstrated outside the MR party headquarters in Brussels, over the refusal of Federal Agriculture Minister David Clarinval to discuss with the sector the relaxation of European legislation on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
