The almost 200 tractors that “set up a blockade” at the Syntagma will remain throughout the night, before leaving gradually and in a coordinated manner until Wednesday morning at 11.

Almost 10,000 farmers and breeders from every corner of Greece participated in the rally. The demands towards the government are common, as they ask for tax-free oil, lower production costs and renegotiation of the new CAP, as well as compensation for 100% of the damages they have suffered due to climate change.

During the rally the farmers announced that they will continue their agitation until their basic demands are met.

“The tractors will leave here but the race will continue. Our blocks are full of young children with dreams and ambitions who want to live. We cannot leave them to their fate nor accept the fate they are preparing for them. Today we are here and we believe we have sent a very loud message in all directions. We want solutions. The agricultural movement took a big step this year,” said a farmer in his speech.

Another farmer said: “The fight is on. The tractors will be here today and gone tomorrow. We will go back to the blocks and make decisions about the continuation of the match”

While the president of the United Federation of Agricultural Associations of Karditsa, Kostas Tzelas, said: “If solutions are not given to the problems of the agricultural world, the struggle will continue.” He mentioned once again the main demands of the farmers, among which are tax-free agricultural oil, cheap agricultural electricity, the crackdown on Greekization and the revision of the CAP. “We are all asking for tax-free oil for farmers,” he said.

As far as rural electricity is concerned, Mr. Tzelas said that it should drop to 7 cents per kilowatt hour, stressing that “we demand it and we will win it.” Among the demands of the agricultural world, as he pointed out, is the subsidy for the purchase of fertilizers, animal feed and agricultural supplies. “Through something like this we will be able to produce cheap agricultural products,” he emphasized. He once again asked for an end to Greekisation, while in his report on the CAP, he underlined that “we have no answer and no substantial solution” demanding the restoration of “greening”. “Every time the CAP is revised, we get poorer. We are leaving our villages and fields,” he concluded.

The government for its part did not react. 24 hours before, the Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, as well as the government representative Pavlos Marinakis, had emphasized that there are no more budgetary margins for other benefits to farmers.

However, as reported by farmers from Thessaly, a meeting with the Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, is planned for next week. There they will discuss, as they said, issues concerning the plain of Thessaly, which was affected by the “Daniel” plague.