Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>'s government has slammed Western celebrities for backing the <keyword id="45092" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="farmers">farmers</keyword> protesting in New Delhi.</li><li>Farmers say the government's proposed reforms to agricultural laws will leave them poorer.</li><li>Pro-government crowds burned photos of Rihanna and Greta Thunberg on Thursday.</li></ul><p>The Indian government has launched an attack on Western celebrities, with some supporters burning their photos, for publicly supporting mass protests by farmers.</p><p>In late November 2020, some 300,000 farmers marched on New Delhi and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-closed-farmers-occupy-cities-in-revolt-against-market-reforms-2020-12">set up camp to protest a planned reform of agriculture laws</a> that they say will see them lose their income.</p><p>Many have joined them - with the crowd size <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indian-farmer-strike-largest-protest-history-us-world-pay-attention-2020-12">reaching 250 million</a> at its peak - and the farmers remain unmoving.</p><p>This week, the farmers' cause was taken up by several US and European celebrities, prompting anger from the government and its supporters.</p><p>"The temptation of sensationalist social media hashtags and comments, especially when resorted to by celebrities and others, is neither accurate nor responsible," India's external affairs ministry <a href="https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/33456/Press_Statement_on_recent_comments_by_foreign_individuals_and_entities_on_the_farmers_protests">said in a statement Wednesday.</a></p><div type="image" title="Indian Farmers Protests" height="1744" width="3488" msid="80722099" hostid="261"></div><p>The comments came hours after celebrities including the climate activist Greta Thunberg, singer Rihanna, and author Meena Harris - who is also the niece of US Vice President Kamala Harris - expressed support for the farmers.</p><p>"We stand in solidarity with farmers protests in India," Thunberg <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1357054451769606147">tweeted</a> Tuesday. The next day, Thunberg tweeted <a href="https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1357054451769606147">a "toolkit"</a> for supporting the farmers, including how to sign petitions and which hashtags to use.</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/rihanna-tweets-about-farmers-protests-in-india-faces-vicious-trolling-on-twitter/articleshow/80664477.cms">Rihanna</a> on Tuesday tweeted an article about the protest, writing: "Why aren't we talking about this?!"</p><p>The same day, Meena Harris <a href="https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1356747965713371138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1356747965713371138%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Findia-government-attack-us-celebrities-backing-farmer-protests-burn-effigies-2021-221-2">tweeted</a>: "We ALL should be outraged by India's internet shutdowns and paramilitary violence against farmer protesters."</p><p>Harris was referring to the government's <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2021/02/01/asia/india-internet-cut-farmers-intl-hnk/index.html">decision last Sunday to once again shut down the internet</a> around New Delhi amid the protests.</p><p>On Thursday, pro-government protesters in New Delhi also burned photos of Thunberg, Rihanna, and Harris, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/feb/04/greta-thunberg-effigies-burned-in-delhi-after-tweets-on-farmers-protests">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>Harris <a href="https://twitter.com/meenaharris/status/1357376550803369986">tweeted</a> in response to a photo of her likeness being burned: "I spoke out in support of human rights for Indian farmers, and look at the response."</p><p>The NBA player Kyle Kuzma has also <a href="https://twitter.com/kylekuzma/status/1357009721090138112">tweeted</a> about the protests, while the NFL player JuJu Smith Schuster <a href="https://twitter.com/TeamJuJu/status/1357048037302960129">tweeted</a> that he had donated $10,000 to help the farmer obtain medical supplies.</p><p>A number of Indian celebrities have also publicly supported their government, with the <a href="https://theprint.in/india/after-rihanna-greta-thunberg-support-farm-protests-kangana-calls-farmers-terrorists/597806/">actress Kangana Ranaut</a>, describing the farmers as terrorists, and the Indian cricket player Pragyan Ojha <a href="https://twitter.com/pragyanojha/status/1356697584291639296">tweeting to Rihanna</a>: "We don't need an outsider poking her nose in our internal matters!"</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-campaign-against-republicans-voted-for-impeachment-2021-2">Trump is plotting a campaign revenge tour targeting GOP defectors after Senate impeachment trial</a></em></p><h2>Why are the protests happening?</h2><p>The Indian government wants to liberalize the agriculture industry - in which 40% of Indians work - and deregulate crop pricing.</p><p>Farmers' unions say the proposed laws <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/27/world/asia/india-farmer-protest.html">would make them poorer</a> and leave them exposed to exploitation from large corporations. They also say <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/were-farmers-consulted-before-farm-laws-no-record-says-rti-response-2345287">they were not consulted</a> about the new plans.</p><p>The demonstrations <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/25/world/asia/india-farmers-protests-delhi.html">have often turned violent</a>, with <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55899754">the police erecting barbed wire barricades</a> and <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/police-use-barbed-wire-spikes-trenches-to-cut-off-protest-sites/article33734304.ece">digging trenches</a> around parts of New Delhi.</p><p>On January 27, a number of farmers broke into the city's historic Red Fort, and the government called the military eject them. Three hundred police officers were also injured in the city that day, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-55817628">the BBC added</a>.</p><p>Some farmers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-farmers-protest-law-suicide-epidemic-2021-1">have also said that the proposed laws are worsening the suicide epidemic</a> sweeping their industry, as Insider reported last month.</p><p>The farmers' efforts have had some impact, but how the fight will end remains unclear.</p><p>Late last month, India's Supreme Court ruled to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/12/world/asia/india-farmers-protest-court-law.html">suspend the new laws</a> from being imposed last month, but farmer are <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-55615482">refusing to back down</a> until the laws are completely repealed - a move that the government has already vowed not to do.</p>

The Indian government and its supporters are attacking Western celebrities for supporting the farmers' protests

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="REUTERS/Francois Lenoir" title_caption="A Belgian dairy farmer pours milk from a truck during a protest against low milk prices at the milk processing factory Corman in Bethane near Liege, Belgium, July 30, 2015." class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55ef0365dd0895e16c8b461b-960/rtx1mef6.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Francois Lenoir</span></p><p class="caption">A Belgian dairy farmer pours milk from a truck during a protest against low milk prices at the milk processing factory Corman in Bethane near Liege, Belgium, July 30, 2015.</p></div><p></p></div></div>The centre of Brussels <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/sep/07/farmers-clash-police-brussels-milk-meat-prices-protest">looked like a medieval warzone over the weekend</a> as farmers turned bales of hay into flaming barricades and tore up paving to hurl at the riot police opposing them.</p><p>They're not alone.</p><p>A <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/french-farmer-protest-leads-to-paris-flooded-with-tractors-2015-9">convoy of angry French farmers</a> steamed into Paris on tractors last week. Even somewhat more reserved British farmers have been kicking off in recent months, removing the milk from supermarket shelves to highlight their own struggles.</p><p>They're all protesting about dairy prices, which have gone through the floor this year.</p><p>But why is it happening? </p><p>In short: there's too much supply and not enough demand.</p><p><span>At the end of March, the EU </span><a href="http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/milk-quota-end/index_en.htm">got rid of milk production quotas</a><span>, which had limited how much farmers could produce under the Common Agricultural Policy. </span></p><p><span><span>So production is up, and as a result, prices are down. </span></span></p><p>You can see how much wholesale milk prices have fallen in the <keyword id="6354868" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="UK">UK</keyword>, dipping below £0.25 ($0.38) per litre this year:</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Defra" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55ef0365dd0895e16c8b461c-960/screen shot 2015-09-08 at 3.07.15 pm.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Defra</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p><span><span>In Ireland, a major milk-producing country, </span><a href="http://www.agriland.ie/farming-news/irish-milk-production-increase-leads-the-way-in-europe-up-7-8/">7.8% more milk was produced in the first six months of 2015</a><span> than in the first six months of 2014.</span></span></p><p>Removing the quota mostly helps large farmers who were held back by production limits. But smaller operations that can't produce more milk are now getting hammered.</p><p><span>While the British protests </span><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33777075">initially focused on reduced prices at supermarkets</a><span>, there are bigger forces at work. Supermarket competition is one factor that contributes to lower prices</span>, but that's missing the wood for the trees. Supermarkets were competing back in 2013, too. The abandoning of milk quotas is new and that's making conditions even tougher. </p><p>Below you can see what's been happening to the number of farmers actually producing dairy. In a period of just 10 years, the number of producers in the EU has been pretty much cut in half. They're consolidating into fewer, bigger firms. That's bad news for the little guys. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Business Insider, AHDB" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55ef0365dd0895e16c8b461d-960/eu producers.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Business Insider, AHDB</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>Milk farming is not a growth business - the number of firms has already been sliding for years. The recent price slump is just another pressure on an industry that's been squeezed for a long time.</p><p>And it's not just Europe. Globally, dairy prices recently touched their lowest levels since the early 2000s, going below what was seen during the worst part of the financial crisis.</p><p>That's undoubtedly welcome for consumers, who aren't going to complain about lower dairy prices. But for a lot of the people that make the products, a fall in prices by about 60% is unbearable.</p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image"><a title_source="Global Dairy Trade" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/55ef0365dd0895e16c8b461e-960/gdt price index.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Global Dairy Trade</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>There's been a glut of dairy around the world, including North America and New Zealand - the tiny island nation is an absolute colossus on the global market for dairy products. The slowdown in China certainly hasn't helped, since rapid consumption growth in the world's second-biggest economy was part of the plan for many major producers.</p><p>Similarly, Russia's agricultural sanctions haven't helped European farmers, who were suddenly deprived of another source of demand. </p><p>New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English even described it as a "<a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/dairy/70406771/Dairy-industry-facing-a-perfect-storm-of-excess-supply-warns-Bill-English">perfect storm</a>" for the sector. </p><p><span>The glut has driven</span><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/11796488/Dairy-Crest-and-Muller-edge-closer-to-sealing-80m-deal.html"> acquisitions in the sector</a><span>, and the troubles of milk giant Fonterra are so important to the New Zealand economy that they're </span><a href="http://www.rbnz.govt.nz/research_and_publications/speeches/2015/6012526.html">raised in speeches by the governor of the country's central bank</a><span>. </span></p><p>There's no consensus on when there'll be any relief for the farmers. <span>The only thing that's likely is more farmers manning the barricades before it's all over.</span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/50-cent-lifestyle-illusion-testifies-court-bankruptcy-curtis-jackson-2015-7">50 Cent testifies his lifestyle is an illusion</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="BoeGRmdjoMc4sxqQrQiRAH_i98W5p0IW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

You Searched For "farmers barricades" and got 2 results

The Indian government and its supporters are attacking Western celebrities for supporting the farmers' protests

Bill Bostock

Why Europe's farmers are flipping out over milk prices

Mike Bird

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides