Farmers Protest with Tractors in Front of the Ministry of Agriculture: Don’t Leave Us Without Bread

In front of the Ministry of Agriculture, farmers held a protest today, demanding the resumption of milk collection after its production has been temporarily halted for four days.

The protest began at 13:00. The farmers arrived with tractors and work vehicles, while the atmosphere was accompanied by the constant sound of horns.

During the gathering, they poured milk first in the ministry’s courtyard and then near the institution.

When the protesters tried to get closer to the ministry, there were several verbal clashes with police officers, but this did not stop them from moving up near the building.

At the protest, banners could also be seen bearing the slogans: “The farmer is not the enemy,” “Don’t touch jobs,” “Don’t leave us without bread,” “Our work, our right,” and others.

Fidan Krasniqi, a representative of the Dairy Producers Association, spoke about the reasons for organizing the protest.

Krasniqi: For a year now, we have been demanding equal competition

“We have gathered in front of the Ministry of Agriculture as the association of milk producers in support of our farmers, our membership, the collection points, all stakeholders, interest groups, because we are the producers of this country and we produce milk for this country, for this population. For a year now, we have been knocking on the doors of the state, informing the relevant ministries about the situation created in this sector and asking that measures be taken to guarantee investment and the safety of our products so that we have equal competition and not imports at subsidized prices from Serbia, Bosnia, North Macedonia and the entire region. All of you are witnesses to these products and accuse us as to why those products are sold on our shelves at very low prices,” Krasniqi said.

Another participant in the protest, Kushtrim Tigani, called for the publication of results related to the presence of powdered milk.

Tigani: The Ministry of Agriculture and the Food and Veterinary Agency should come out with the results

“As the largest dairy in Kosovo, we collect more than 50% of Kosovo’s milk. All these farmers bring us more than 100,000 liters of milk per day. I call on some Facebook soldiers who are coming out and smearing this hardworking farmer and all those farmers who produce milk and process milk, and I urge the Minister of Agriculture and the Food and Veterinary Agency to publish as soon as possible the results of what they found regarding the presence of powdered milk, because there is no powdered milk and they know there is no powdered milk. Let them come out with the results as soon as possible, because even for the analysis of ‘Vita’ milk it takes weeks for the result to come out,” Tigani said.

After the protest ended, the protesters left with their vehicles. Meanwhile, a meeting is currently taking place between the farmers and the Ministry of Agriculture, and statements are expected afterward.