Fair prices: Farmers want to be heard in Bern

A thousand farmers demonstrated on Tuesday in Bern to make themselves heard by the political world and the administration, according to a Keystone-ATS journalist on site. They demanded less administrative burden, more planning security and fair prices.

The rally took place in front of the headquarters of the Federal Office of Agriculture (FOAG) in Liebefeld, in the Bernese suburbs. In its call to demonstrate, the Dialog Bauern Schweiz group called not to come by tractor, but to participate with bells.

The demonstrators also brandished banners, signs and flags of their cantons, to show the national scope of their movement.

In their letter of protest, the rally organizers emphasize that the year 2024 has not been easy for Swiss farming families. It was marked by a difficult situation on the market, uncertain framework conditions and major cultivation difficulties due to weather conditions.

According to them, only the demand for greater valorization of their work and their products has been satisfied by the decisions taken in recent years. On the other hand, this is not the case for reducing the administrative burden.

Nor did the federal authorities heed the demand for greater stability and planning security for peasant families as well as a “fair and appropriate” price for their products and labor.

klmu, ats