The agricultural sector is sick, has considerable problems and is in a difficult situation, says the head of the Agricultural Union of the Czech Republic, Martin Pýcha. “The reason, of course, is the price of commodities,” pointed out. “Today we sell wheat for CZK 3,500, it’s like in the 90s,” she pointed out he also complained about the “terribly complex bureaucratic administrative system”.
“Those farmers don’t know anything about it, we have almost 200 subsidy titles. Even the officials don’t really know how it works anymore (…) and there is a threat of sanctions for every mistake,” Pýcha pointed out and also pointed to a large increase in checks. “Frustration in those farms in a huge way,” introduced in the Blesku studio.
Wallflower he is not right
At the same time, Pýcha did not agree with the words of Petr Fiala (ODS) in the Blesk studio. He also stated in a comprehensive statement on Monday: “The demonstration is organized by people who, for example, do not hide their support for the Kremlin and pursue goals other than the interests of farmers. That’s probably why all the main organizations that represent farmers – the Agrarian Chamber, the Agricultural Union and the Association of Private Agriculture – distanced themselves from today’s protest.
However, Pýcha pointed out that the Agricultural Union of the Czech Republic did not participate for reasons other than those mentioned by Fiala. The union wants to be primarily apolitical and considers calls for the resignation of the government to be political, but in addition, it still hopes for an agreement with the Minister of Agriculture, Mark Výborný (KDU-ČSL) and has the date of the next meeting on February 29. If even that collapses, there is a threat of protests from the Agricultural Union as well.
“Those farmers who came, certainly for the most part did not come to demonstrate against Ukraine or for Russia. I am convinced of that,” he rejected Violet’s words Pride.
“I definitely don’t see any pro-Russian forces there. I see farmers there who simply arrived and are angry. The difference between those farmers who are in Prague today and those farmers who will be driving in the regions and on the borders on Thursday is that, while here, those who are in Prague no longer trust the government, they don’t believe that we are capable of anything come to an agreement and they perceive that they have to speak with force and pressure, so the other group still believes that there is an opportunity to negotiate something. And that is the fundamental difference. I certainly wouldn’t see any pro-Russian trolls among those farmers“, Pride continued.
Help Ukraine? Yes, but…
According to Pýcha, there is also a problem in the transportation of commodities. “I understand, we want help to Ukraine, it’s finebut if the market has some kind of balance between supply and demand and we let x million tons of grain from Ukraine here, then of course that will cause the supply to outweigh the demand and the whole thing will collapse,” Pýcha pointed out.
“We must help Ukraine, but not by eliminating European, and thus Czech, agriculture,” warned Pýcha, according to which another way of helping Ukraine must be found. “If we have billions of euros that we send to Ukraine to receive weapons, then let’s help them transfer their production to the ports, because the cargo is very expensive for them and of course it makes it not worthwhile for them, let’s help them get their production to the markets where it was originally intended – North Africa, the Middle East, etc. And not that we release it to our market, then we’ll see what it does and we say that we must help Ukraine. Then the farmers don’t know what to do with the harvest,” said Pýcha, adding that he believes that Minister of Agriculture Výborný perceives this situation and tries to present it at the European level as well.
Demonstrating against Excellent? Stupid, says Pride
Pýcha, compared to Monday’s protesters who, after pulling tractors in Prague, set out to protest on Malostranské náměstí under the windows of the Chamber of Deputies, stated one more difference – possible protests does not want the Agricultural Union “to bully the Czech population or the Czech government”, although he blamed the government for helping to deepen the ditches among the farmers by its own actions.
“It seems stupid to me to demonstrate against the minister who is trying to help us, because the main part of the negotiations will take place and is taking place at the level of the European Commission and the European Council. That’s why our demonstration on 22 February, because we want to show that even Czech farmers are dissatisfied with the inaction of the European authorities,” Pýcha added.