Third day of farmers' protests: Straw bales set on fire, road blockades across the country

The protests of the farmers in the country continued with full force today, February 8. Burnt straw bales, dumped produce and key roads across the country blocked by heavy farming machinery marked the third day of discontent.

Farmers from Stara Zagora blocked the Trakia motorway, the sub-Balkan road to Pavel Banya and the one to Dimitrovgrad.

Protesters in Plovdiv dumped dozens of kilogrammes of fruit on the road to show that the country's organic produce is going to waste because of lower prices of imported goods.

"We have 200 tonnes of raspberries and blackberries in stock because we cannot sell them. The selling price used to be 6 BGN, now it is 2.50," said Ivan Bakalov, a farmer.

In Vidin, they blocked the road to Danube Bridge 2 and stopped the traffic for heavy goods vehicles for seven hours. Grain growers do not agree with the government’s proposal to prove losses in order to get aid.

"This is like going to a credit institution to take a loan and getting no financing when they see that you are at a loss," said Bisser Genchev, a farmer.

Traffic to Romania via Russe was also suspended for four hours.

"We want to get a long-term sustainability of the sector through legislative changes! Not so much the financial demands, because the financial demands at the moment is putting out a fire," said Deyan Zhivkov, National Sheep and Goat Association.

The road to Greece near Kresna was completely blocked at midday. Dissatisfied producers from Blagoevgrad region also stopped traffic on the main road E-79.

"The Minister of Agriculture should look for another job.This is our demand because he does not understand the matter," noted Velin Georgiev, National Association of Greenhouse Growers.

In Pazardzhik, the protesting farmers stopped traffic on the approach to the motorway and vowed not to allow tourists to Velingrad tomorrow. For a short time, the motorway in Burgas region remained blocked to traffic in both lanes.

Images by BNT, BTA, BNR, BGNES

"We have no political demands, we are just looking at how to save the sector," explained Kiryak Radev, a grape grower.

The protests in the country continue tomorrow, despite the upcoming meeting of the dissatisfied with the government.