Farmers escalate protests after Malgara meeting from warnings to road blockades
fter a nationwide meeting bringing together 62 farmer blockades in Malgara on January 4, 2026, Greece’s agricultural movement signaled a clear shift in tone. Warnings are giving way to action, as farmers agreed on targeted blockades of key transport arteries, citing delayed payments, problems with monitoring systems, and concerns over the Mercosur trade agreement as central grievances.
The mood at Sunday’s midday assembly left little room for ambiguity. Representatives from across the country voted to enter a new phase of mobilization, more coordinated, more intense, and strategically focused. After the Epiphany holiday, on Thursday and Friday, blockades are expected to widen, in some cases extending to service roads, wherever this is considered operationally effective.
At the heart of the plan is Siatista, where farmers intend to close the Egnatia Motorway, one of northern Greece’s main transport corridors. Larissa-based producers are preparing service-road blockades in the Tempi area, while farmers from Karditsa are mobilizing at Bralos. Additional pressure points include the Rio–Antirrio toll station, Nestani near Tripoli, and other strategic nodes of the national road network.
In Malgara, the blockade will move forward with the closure of the PATHE axis, while service roads will remain open, a deliberate choice aimed at preserving daily access for surrounding villages.
Beyond the logistics, the assembly’s discussion turned to substance. Representatives of farmer blockades, along with agricultural, livestock, and beekeeping cooperatives, made clear that any future engagement with the state must involve meaningful dialogue—not procedural consultations. Their message focused on the long-term viability of the primary sector, at a moment when uncertainty, they argue, stems as much from administrative implementation as from market pressures.
Payment delays emerged as a dominant issue. Speakers pointed to unresolved problems linked to ATAK identifiers and monitoring mechanisms, which have left a significant number of producers unpaid, despite having completed all required declarations and checks. This, participants stressed, is not a technical glitch, but a liquidity crisis for farms operating with razor-thin margins.
The meeting closed with a slogan that captured the prevailing resolve: “We continue our struggle decisively and without retreat.” Farmers pledged to act as a single front, shifting pressure from statements to infrastructure, and from symbolic protest to direct impact on everyday economic activity.
Whether this escalation will prompt substantive institutional responses or solidify a more confrontational equilibrium between producers and the government remains to be seen. What is already clear, however, is that the agricultural mobilization of 2026 is entering a phase of greater cohesion, binding together administrative failures, income insecurity, and international trade dynamics into a single, unified framework.