Disappointed farmers leave roads for fields
Protesting cotton farmers appeared to run out of steam suddenly yesterday, loosening their grip on the country’s roads, even though the government had rejected their demand for full crop subsidies. With many farmers leaving to work their fields, roadblocks that had sprung up since Friday across the country were lifted. The remaining protesters kept their tractors at the roadside. Intensive talks between farmers’ representatives and Agriculture Minister Giorgos Drys on Monday night led only to an agreement that farmers who produced cotton beyond predetermined quotas should not be paid subsidies. Farmers had demanded that those who produced more than the EU quotas should be paid and that those who produced legally should not get reduced subsidies. By late last night, the government had not come through with its promise to present a list of names of quota violators. The EU has set a national quota of 1,147,000 tons for Greece. The true amount of cotton produced is expected to be known in mid-May, when the EU has to be given details of crop production.
