Brussels: Farmers protest against government’s plan to limit Nitrogen Emissions from agriculture

Brussels: The farmers in Brussels took to the street to protest against the government’s plan to limit Nitrogen Emissions from agriculture on Friday, March 3, 2023. The demonstration has been taking place in various parts of northern Belgium.

The British embassy in Brussels, United Kingdom, posted an update on Facebook and shared glimpses of the protesting farmers. The farmers from the Northern Belgium region drove thousands of tractors to Brussels on Friday, March 3, 2023, protesting against the government’s plan to limit the use of Nitrogen Emissions for agriculture.

As per the sources, there were around 2,700 tractors clogged on the street of Brussels, demonstrating their anger and dismay from the system. on Thursday, March 2, 2023, The British embassy of Belgium highlights the traffic problems that occurred throughout the Brussels region.

The traffic problems faced by the local people during the farmer’s protest in Brussels were:
The following were closed from 1000 hrs for the remainder of the day:
• The Reyers Tunnel from the E40 towards the centre;
• The Cinquantenaire Tunnel in the Rue de la Loi direction;
• The Annie Cordy tunnel coming from Koekelberg towards Midi;
• The Avenue du Port;
• Inner ring road (la petite ceinture bruxelloise).
The inner ring of Brussels was inaccessible to car traffic, as were the Arts-Loi crossroads.
Rue de la Loi and the European quarter has also experienced severe traffic disruptions. These problems persisted until late in the afternoon.

The Demonstrators travelled in the morning via the following access roads:
• Chaussée de Gand;
• Chaussée de Ninove;
• Chaussée de Louvain;
• Chaussée de Vilvoorde.
The police also recommended people not to come to Brussels by car and must use public transport such as metro, trains or other means.

Reportedly, Cutting Nitrogen from agricultural land is not easy; the amount of Nitrogen released from farmland widely depends upon the natural consequences, including climatic conditions, irrigation, crop and soil type. The biggest challenge to Nitrogen Emission comes from farmers, who are reluctant to reduce their fertilizers as they fear the problems like diminished yields and crop failure. Also, Nitrogen is an essential nutrient for the growth of every living organism on earth. The plants use nitrogen compounds in the soil as fertilizers which help them to grow more prominent and faster and to produce more food.