SMALL comfort for British farmers, but they are not the only ones suffering from low prices and over-regulation in the EU.

Last week, 6,000 Polish farmers marched in Warsaw to protest about the government’s failure to address their longstanding demands.

After talks between union leaders and the prime minister failed, farmers built an occupation camp outside the PM’s palace and have vowed to remain there until their demands are met.

The key demands of the Solidarity Union are for robust legislation to address three main concerns:

- Land rights – the implementation of regulation to prevent land-grabs by western companies and to protect family farmers rights to land.

- Legalise direct sales of farm produce – farmers want the government to take action to improve farmers’ position in the market, including the adoption of a law to facilitate direct sales of processed and unproces-sed farm products.

- Implement regulation to ensure farmers are compensated for losses caused by the government's and the EU's negligent policies towards quotas, control of wild animals and trade embargos.

These demands build on longstanding grievances among farmers, who say the government has not fulfilled agreements and contracts, leading to bankruptcy for many farmers, loss of agricultural land and to an agricultural model that has prohibited the direct sale of products and forced farmers to focus on selling raw products into the low-priced export market, which are then processed by international companies and re-imported, leaving Polish farmers with little of the real value of the products.

Speaking at the protest, family farmers Maria and Mariusz Nowak said: “The government needs to resign. We should withdraw our membership of the Euro-pean Union and recover our national food self-sufficiency.

“It is crazy that we import products we can produce here – our products are better quality and are healthier.”

Another farmer, Jadwiga Lopata, said: “The health and welfare of the nation depends on consumers and farmers having access to traditional seeds and good quality food.

“The Polish government does not accept this and is destroying the roots of Polish agriculture by listening to corporations rather than Polish people.

“Why are farmers underpaid and overworked when they produce something essential – food?”