Farmers plan nationwide roadblocks – Protests to target highways, ports, and customs offices
Farmers across Greece are preparing to launch widespread mobilizations, with the first roadblocks expected to appear from 30 November, expanding further by 5 December. A nationwide shutdown of the main highway network is planned for early December, following decisions made at the national farmers’ assembly held in Nikaia, Larissa.
Livestock breeders are also joining the mobilizations, demanding government support and accusing authorities of delays in implementing necessary measures to contain the ongoing sheep and goat pox outbreak. According to recent figures, 417,000 animals have been culled, with Thessaly suffering the greatest losses.
Planned Actions Across the Country
Farmers from Thessaly proposed the creation of a single, large-scale blockade on the Athens–Selanik motorway. Other regions presented their own plans, including tractor demonstrations, blockades at ports, customs offices, and other forms of protest tailored to local needs.
Protesters are voicing anger over the OPEKEPE scandal, long-standing systemic issues in the agricultural sector, high production costs, and delayed ELGA compensation payments. Farmers demand guaranteed product prices and structural measures to ensure sustainability for primary production.
Rising Tensions
“We will mobilize nationwide—on highways, customs offices, ports, even airports—wherever necessary to apply pressure on the government,” said Kostas Tzellas, President of the United Federation of Agricultural Associations of Palamas, Karditsa.
Representatives highlighted deep frustration:
- Unreliable government, due to the OPEKEPE scandal
- Production prices that do not cover costs
- Profiteering in the market
“The supermarkets buy potatoes from us at €0.15 and sell them for €1.00. We sell milk at €1.40 but cheese reaches €15 per kilo. This must stop—this is theft and profiteering,” said the President of the Messinia Agricultural Association.
Political Reactions
SYRIZA: Farmers protest out of necessity, not choice
SYRIZA–PS described the farmers’ mobilizations as “logical and fair,” accusing the government of driving the agricultural sector to “suffocation and extinction.”
The party referenced:
- High production costs
- Expensive energy and transport
- Payment delays
- The OPEKEPE corruption scandal
- Failure to control animal diseases
SYRIZA emphasized that farmers “are fighting for survival, dignity, and transparency.”
New Left: A cry accumulated over years
The New Left stated that the protests reflect “years of accumulated despair,” pointing to shrinking incomes, soaring costs, and severe losses in livestock due to government inaction during the pox outbreak.
The party criticized government scandals, privileged networks, and mismanagement, which, it argued, have deepened the sense of injustice among farmers.
Both political parties expressed full support for the farmers’ struggle, urging the government to provide immediate and substantial solutions before the sector faces irreversible collapse.
