Scarecrows ‘protest’ outside Parliament as farmers warn they’ll go out of business in next year

British farmers used scarecrows outside Parliament in protest, as they called for better treatment from supermarkets.

The 49 scarecrows stood outside Parliament on Monday, 22 January, representing fruit and vegetable farmers who claim they’ll likely go out of business in the next 12 months.

Many blame supermarkets’ buying practices as a leading threat to their livelihoods. A petition initiated by Riverford Organic, and signed by more than 110,000 people is pressing the Government to overhaul the grocery supply code of practice.

“Farmers live in terror of losing the supermarket contract, which means they lose their livelihood, they lose their farm. It is such an imbalance of power,” said Guy Singh-Watson, the founder of Riverford Organic,