Italian Farmers Driving 200 Tractors Towards Rome to Hold Protest Rally Outside City

ROME (Sputnik) - A convoy of 200 tractors is moving toward Rome to hold a protest on a highway on the outskirts of the city, a representative for the united protest committee, Galgano Palaferri, told Sputnik.

The farmers traveled from the south of the central region of Tuscany on Monday morning and will be later joined by their colleagues from other Italian regions, the representative added. The protesters are bringing along food and water to be able to hold a multi-day rally, he said.

"The convoy will arrive on Monday evening. We are currently negotiating with the police to determine the place of our stay on one of the two highways on the outskirts of the city," Palaferri said.

The protests by Italian farmers is a part of bigger picture –the farmer protests across whole Europe. The agitating farmers list reasons like EU markets being flooded with cheap and tax-free agricultural products from Ukraine, agricultural subsidy cutbacks amid energy crisis and new regulations that disrupt business planning.