Hundreds of farmers have staged a go-slow tractor protest in Canterbury as concerns over cheaper food imports and government policy grows.
A convoy of tractors and other agricultural machinery was driven through the city centre on Sunday afternoon (3 March).
Anger over the low prices that farmers receive from retailers is heightening, as is growing industry worry over post-Brexit farming policies.
Sunday's action, spearheaded by campaign group Fairness for Farmers, follows a separate tractor protest at the port of Dover on 9 February.
Elsewhere, in Wales, over 10,000 farmers took to the streets of Cardiff last week over rising anger at the Welsh government's vision for the industry.
Geoffrey Philpott, a cauliflower farmer in East Kent, said the protest in Canterbury was mainly centred on the need to ban sub-standard imports.
“I am proud to have a Union Jack on all my produce, but why is it foreign produce that is packed in the UK can have a Union Jack on it?" he asked.
Canterbury pic.twitter.com/zSo1sYhAFU
— Sheila Duncan (@i_pinkwolfie) March 3, 2024
"The only reason is to deceive the public into believing it’s the healthiest and safest food you can buy."
He said food security was another top issue. "I hope to be farming for many years to come, but if things don’t change, I won’t be and I won’t be employing the fourteen people who work for me.
"Then we will be reliant on foreign produce that will not have the high standard of UK production. Once that happens, we could be held to ransom over pricing.
"Let’s hope people wake up quickly and support British agriculture so I can continue to farm for many years to come and supply healthy, safe produce for UK people.”
#backbritishfarming farmers protesting in Canterbury. Hundreds of tractors are slowing down the traffic around Canterbury. A lot of support here pic.twitter.com/pGhSApZWqV
— seenbyj (@JSeenbyj) March 3, 2024
In a statement, Defra said it 'firmly backs our farmers'. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak recently unveiled a package of grant support worth nearly £430m to boost the industry.
However, despite this, the industry remains concerned. A new UK-wide campaign group 'No Farmers, No Food' says it will put pressure on the government to ensure British farming remains viable into the future.
The group, which has attracted tens of thousands of followers since it was launched in January, says it is a "collection of farmers who are concerned that the future of farming is currently under threat."
