More than 100 tractors on the A1 near Orte, in the Viterbo area, where the toll booth was closed for around two hours causing traffic congestion.
Thus the protest of the farmers is growing, as they intend to proceed to the bitter end with their protest and say they are ready to go to Rome "to protest there too, near the palaces of power" , announces Antonio Monfeli, organizer of the protest on the A1.
Demonstrations also in other Italian cities against the choices that penalize agriculture and Made in Italy and to contest the increase in the cost of raw materials. In Orte the situation is more difficult with the toll booth being blocked. The initial 60 agricultural vehicles became more than 100 over the hours. The heavy vehicles stopped around the roundabout in front of the toll booth, effectively preventing both access and exit from the motorway. A field kitchen has been set up in the center of the roundabout. Around 2.30pm the toll booth was closed and then reopened after 4pm.
The objective is to request the government for a national agricultural plan that includes a package of proposals that can be implemented quickly , including greater flexibility in relation to the procurement of manpower and the application of precise reciprocity rules towards foreign competition.
The Meloni government, says the Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Francesco Lollobrigida, posting his position in a long speech on Facebook, "is on the side of the farmers, no ifs or buts".
The policies of the European Union, «endorsed by the Governments that preceded us», writes Lollobrigida, «were simply crazy. They have made choices aimed at decreasing production and cultivated land in exchange for increasingly lower subsidies, using environmental sustainability as a cudgel." Italy, Lollobrigida underlines again regarding one of the central themes of the protests in Europe, «has maintained the benefits on agricultural fuel and has no intention of changing this choice» while on the Irpef exemption he had already intervened in recent days underlining that it is useful for agriculture as it promotes millionaire incomes. "Instead of the 248 million Irpef for the State, we put 300 for the emergency fund," Lollobrigida said.
On the topic of protests, it would be "yet another mistake to ignore the requests of farmers", according to MEP Paolo De Castro for whom the EU is perceived as an "enemy" for the too many measures that have put the category under accusation. "Without the convinced adhesion of our farmers and the entire agri-food system - underlines De Castro - any prospect of climate neutrality becomes unachievable". Green Europe co-spokesperson and Green and Left MP Angelo Bonelli is ready to meet the protesting farmers.
(Unioneonline/D)