A rally in Thessaloniki on Saturday, September 5 , the opening day of the 90th TIF , was decided by the farmers who participated in the meeting of representatives of the Panhellenic Committee of the Blocs in Nea Malgara.
The gathering is scheduled for 5 pm at the White Tower , with farmers announcing the presence of tractors in the city center. The choice of both the day and the location is not accidental. The Saturday of the opening of the Exhibition is traditionally the day with the greatest political and journalistic attention in Thessaloniki, and the White Tower is a stone’s throw from the point where all the government news is concentrated.
The decision was made in view of the government’s announcements at the TIF, against the backdrop of the agricultural world’s ongoing demands. The focus is on production costs , pending payments and subsidies , that is, the issues that have fueled the agricultural mobilization for months without finding a definitive solution.
The meeting was attended by representatives of farmers from Thessaloniki, Larissa, Serres, Karditsa, Imathia, Pieria, Pella and Grevena . The geographical spread of those present shows that the mobilization is not local in nature but covers most of rural Macedonia and Thessaly, the regions that also played a leading role in the previous blockades.
The challenge for farmers is twofold. On the one hand, to make it clear that the Report’s announcements will be judged on whether they respond to specific demands. On the other hand, to show that the possibility of escalation remains open, if the responses are deemed insufficient.
