The Canary Islands’ agricultural sector has finalized its schedule of mobilizations. As previously announced, farmers will take to the streets once the carnival season is over. In Gran Canaria, it will be on Wednesday, February 21, and in Tenerife, on Saturday, February 24. The associations will deliver the route to the Government Sub-delegation today. The only thing that remains uncertain is the date of the protests that will take place in La Palma, although they are initially scheduled for Tuesday, February 20.
“We are going to mobilise bus fleets to bring people to the capitals, and producers from nearby municipalities will bring tractors and trucks,” explained this morning the general secretary of the Association of Farmers and Livestock Breeders of the Canaries (Asaga), Theo Hernando, who assured that there would be around 50 vehicles in each capital. As for the number of people, it is still “too early” to give a figure. “We hope there will be a few thousand,” Hernando added. Livestock breeders will also join the protests with their animals.
The Route Ahead
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The routes will start at 11:00 a.m. in both Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife. In the capital of Gran Canaria, farmers will begin their protests at the Government Presidency and will conclude with the reading of a manifesto in Plaza de la Feria, in front of the Government Delegation building. In Tenerife, the exact route is yet to be defined, but Hernando anticipates that it will also be through the city centre and that the reading of the demands “will take place in the Mercado Nuestra Señora de África.”
The farmers will wrap up the mobilizations by giving out fruit to the citizens who join. “We don’t want to inconvenience the citizens by paralysing traffic. Some streets will be closed off, but we are peaceful,” clarifies the general secretary of Asaga.
The protests by Canary Island farmers are part of the wave of indignation in the European primary sector due to changes in agricultural policies governing imports from non-EU countries, a situation that puts them at a disadvantage and exposes them to potential entry of pests and diseases from third countries.
