On Saturday, around a thousand German farmers persisted in their ongoing protests, advocating for increased environmental and animal protection while expressing their opposition to genetic engineering and unfair pricing practices.
Several hundred people gathered in front of the governing Social Democratic Party headquarters at midday for the start of the agricultural demonstration, police said.
Some 1,000 demonstrators with several dozen tractors marched from there to the chancellery in Berlin's government district, to the sound of honking horns, drums and bagpipe music.
The rally, which was joined by another 7,000 protesters in front of the chancellery, was held under the banner, "Good food needs a future – for GMO-free, rural and environmentally friendly agriculture!"
Some 40 to 50 tractors made their way to the German capital in the morning, with some holding banners such as "Farmers' land belongs in farmers' hands," "Food is political!" and "Farmers before corporate interests."
Farmers and other groups staged their protest to coincide with International Green Week, an agricultural fair in Berlin, calling for more sustainable agricultural policy.
German farmers are angry at cuts to subsidies on fuel and increasing restrictions on environmental grounds without compensation.
The farmers' alliance backs more sustainable agriculture, holding demonstrations with the slogan: "Good food demands a future – for environmentally sound agriculture without genetic technology."
A broad alliance of older and younger farmers, along with other groups, such as beekeepers, was present. They called for a varied agricultural sector, less bureaucracy and enhanced democracy.
The rally was attended by German and international environmental groups, including Fridays for Future.
One of the protestors, Klaus Böglen expressed frustration with the government's agricultural policies.
Böglen told Anadolu Agency (AA): "We believe the government is very inconsistent in protecting the interests of nature and future generations. This is not just about agricultural policy – it is also applicable to social policy and climate policy."
"Decisions are made very quickly on some things that concern farmers without prior discussion, and we want to discuss this. Everyone needs to contribute to something, such as subsidizing diesel, subsidizing flights, for example," he said.
A young woman who did not want to disclose her name emphasized that protesters gathered for ecological farming and supporting farmers.
She demanded the government support sustainable agriculture.
Polls show little faith in German President Olaf Scholz and his government and widespread sympathy for the farmers' protests against cuts to tax breaks on the diesel they use – which stem from the latest major woe to hit the embattled coalition.
A November court ruling struck down a major pillar of the government's financing and left it scrambling to fill a big hole in this year's budget. It had sought to bypass Germany's debt rules by repurposing 60 billion euros ($65.3 billion) originally meant to cushion the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic for measures to help combat climate change and modernize the country.
As part of its plan to fill the gap, coalition leaders said the government would abolish a car tax exemption for farming vehicles and tax breaks on diesel used in agriculture. Amid pushback even from the agriculture minister, it watered that down, saying the car tax exemption would be retained and the cuts in the tax breaks would be staggered over three years.
That didn't satisfy Germany's well-organized farmers, who pressed ahead with a week of protests that culminated in Berlin on Monday. And more appear likely.
"Our farmers are disappointed, they are disappointed that they haven't been listened to, and they can't understand why they should be further burdened in European competition," Joachim Rukwied, the head of the German Farmers' Association, said Friday.
Rukwied said his organization will attempt to win over lawmakers in talks over the next two weeks, but there will still be smaller-scale "actions" by farmers to press their point.
Other groups facing their own challenges have sympathized with or joined in some farmers' demonstrations. They have included road transport and hospitality associations, the latter facing a hike in value-added tax on eating out from the 7% rate it was reduced to during the pandemic to the full 19%.
