Massive farmer protest cuts off two towns

Angry farmers in their tractors blocked all access and exit roads in the towns of Pancevo and Novi Sad on Thursday. In and around Pancevo alone, some 1,000 tractors are taking part in the blockades. Massive farmer protest cuts off two towns On Thursday afternoon, the protesters said they had requested to meet with President Boris Tadic. Previously, reports said that the protest over government's plan to change its policy on subsidies given to farming households continued despite the fact the farmers’ representatives and Agriculture Minister Dusan Petrovic called for an end to road blocks. Several-hour long negotiations between the government and farmers failed last night, B92 learned. The protest has been ongoing for four days. Originally, the farmer associations planned to take the protest to Belgrade, but police prevented them from leaving their villages. They then took to blocking local and regional roads. Regardless of the failure to reach an agreement, the agriculture minister called on farmers to cooperate in order to solve current issues and representatives of farmers’ associations have also called on farmers to end the protests. Despite the fact that the government and the Agriculture Ministry claim that there is no money to increase subsidies, B92 has unofficially learned that the government has changed its offer. The government offered to increase the size of subsidized land from 30 to 50 hectares but farmers did not accept the offer. The new regulation envisages that the size of the subsidized land would reduced from 100 to 10 hectares which prompted farmers in the northern province of Vojvodina, and from elsewhere in the country, to organize protests. According to our reporter in Pancevo, it seems that the blockade has intensified and that more tractors joined the protesters this morning. The authorities are responding by sending a large number of regular police and Gendarmerie officers to the protest sites. The farmers say they feel betrayed, and are unwilling to end the blockades. Serbian Railways in the meantime said it would help local residents who cannot enter or exit the town by road, by introducing four more trains on the Belgrade-Vojlovica line. See more photos (Beta) What's blocked The road blocks put are disrupting traffic north of Belgrade, but the Belgrade-Novi Sad-Horgos highway toward the Hungarian border, and that leading from the capital city to the town of Sid, are still open. But access roads to Sid in northwestern Serbia are also closed, while the border crossing with Croatia at Tovarnik has been shut down. Vehicles are being rerouted to the Ilok crossing. Railroad traffic has been uninterrupted. The following roads are also blocked today: Ruma-Sabac, Pancevo in the direction of Kovin, Vrsac and Bela Crkva, Nova Pazova-Batajnica, Novi Sad-Zrenjanin, Becej-Novi Becej, Sombor-Subotica, Sombor-Kljajicevo-Backa Topola, Kula-Vrbas, Sombor-Odzaci, Novi Sad-Backa Palanka, and exit roads leading from Zrenjanin. Drivers can still use the Kikinda-Padej-Coka-Senta road.

Massive farmer protest cuts off two towns

On Thursday afternoon, the protesters said they had requested to meet with President Boris Tadić.

Previously, reports said that the protest over government's plan to change its policy on subsidies given to farming households continued despite the fact the farmers’ representatives and Agriculture Minister Dušan Petrović called for an end to road blocks.

Several-hour long negotiations between the government and farmers failed last night, B92 learned.

The protest has been ongoing for four days. Originally, the farmer associations planned to take the protest to Belgrade, but police prevented them from leaving their villages. They then took to blocking local and regional roads.

Regardless of the failure to reach an agreement, the agriculture minister called on farmers to cooperate in order to solve current issues and representatives of farmers’ associations have also called on farmers to end the protests.

Despite the fact that the government and the Agriculture Ministry claim that there is no money to increase subsidies, B92 has unofficially learned that the government has changed its offer.

The government offered to increase the size of subsidized land from 30 to 50 hectares but farmers did not accept the offer.

The new regulation envisages that the size of the subsidized land would reduced from 100 to 10 hectares which prompted farmers in the northern province of Vojvodina, and from elsewhere in the country, to organize protests.

According to our reporter in Pančevo, it seems that the blockade has intensified and that more tractors joined the protesters this morning.

The authorities are responding by sending a large number of regular police and Gendarmerie officers to the protest sites.

The farmers say they feel betrayed, and are unwilling to end the blockades.

Serbian Railways in the meantime said it would help local residents who cannot enter or exit the town by road, by introducing four more trains on the Belgrade-Vojlovica line.

See more photos

What's blocked

The road blocks put are disrupting traffic north of Belgrade, but the Belgrade-Novi Sad-Horgoš highway toward the Hungarian border, and that leading from the capital city to the town of Šid, are still open.

But access roads to Šid in northwestern Serbia are also closed, while the border crossing with Croatia at Tovarnik has been shut down.

Vehicles are being rerouted to the Ilok crossing. Railroad traffic has been uninterrupted.

The following roads are also blocked today: Ruma-Šabac, Pančevo in the direction of Kovin, Vršac and Bela Crkva, Nova Pazova-Batajnica, Novi Sad-Zrenjanin, Bečej-Novi Bečej, Sombor-Subotica, Sombor-Kljajićevo-Bačka Topola, Kula-Vrbas, Sombor-Odžaci, Novi Sad-Bačka Palanka, and exit roads leading from Zrenjanin.

Drivers can still use the Kikinda-Padej-Čoka-Senta road.