They are also demanding emergency government relief for crop damage caused by a severe snowstorm last month, opposing plans to sell off the Agricultural Bank of Greece (ATE), and pressing for debt relief and substantially higher pensions.

Prior to a meeting with the minister of agriculture on February 5, farmers thought they had won some of their demands. The ministry had indicated that it would set up a disaster relief fund and increase prices for cotton to a level that would have gone some way to meeting cotton farmers' demands.

At the meeting, however, the government confirmed the emergency relief fund but refused to set a price for cotton, claiming that it had to make sure there was no overproduction.

"The government did not give us anything," said Christos Benekis, a cotton farmer from Thessaly, in a phone interview. He said farmers set out at the beginning of the mobilizations to eliminate fines for overproduction for small farmers. "This is a way to protect the small farmers," he said, "the ones in most need."

This view is not shared by the employers. Vassilis Markou, the manager of a cotton plant, told the Athens News that the "market has become very competitive.... A lone farmer cannot make enough to support his family." Markou added, "Things have to be done on a big scale to make a profit. That's capitalism."

Following the meeting with the government, farmers drove hundreds of tractors to close off the highway to Thessaloniki and the Tembi Pass for periods of time. Hundreds of others also closed off border crossings in the north of the country and continued their presence at the Thessaloniki Airport road. Daily closings ranging from a few minutes to a few hours occurred until February 9 when leaders of farm organizations called off the actions, saying they will call a demonstration in Athens later this month.  
 
 
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