Kent farmers have protested overseas imports of meals in supermarkets, main a “go-slow” protest by Canterbury.
The farmers led a convoy of farming automobiles by Canterbury metropolis centre on Sunday third March 2024, displaying indicators studying “No Farmers, No Meals, No Future” as a part of the demonstration.
This comes as farmers in Wales protested the Welsh Authorities’s Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) within the week prior, with round 3,000 folks turning up on the Senedd.
Over 200 farmers took half within the protest, with bystanders in Canterbury reportedly exhibiting help by honking automotive horns and applauding the convoy. Organisers Equity for Farmers stated that the protest was to “sound the alarm on the ever-increasing difficulties faces by the British farming trade”, which it stated had left UK meals safety in “peril”.
Liz Webster, founding father of the marketing campaign group Save British Farming, said: “Farming is fraught with dangers: dangers which have intensified yearly with the local weather emergency, Ukraine warfare and Brexit actuality which has solely served to exacerbate issues.
“They [Government] wish to go away us reliant on meals imports that are dangerous for public well being, the setting, animal welfare and local weather disaster.
“In 2019, this Authorities was elected with a mandate to uphold our requirements and ship a ready-made cope with the EU which might see British agriculture increase. It’s now fully apparent that they’ve completely betrayed us all.”
A Authorities spokesperson stated: “We firmly again our farmers. British farming is on the coronary heart of British commerce, and we put agriculture on the forefront of any offers we negotiate, prioritising new export alternatives, defending UK meals requirements and eradicating market entry obstacles.
“We’ve maintained the £2.4 billion annual farming finances which helps farmers to provide meals profitably and sustainably and are additionally methods to additional enhance equity within the provide chain and help British farmers and growers, in addition to making certain prospects have entry to prime quality contemporary British merchandise.”