The protagonist of 'Alcarràs' leaves the field: "I abandon, they want us to disappear"

Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Quimet de Alcarràs, leaves the field.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
05 February 2024 Monday 16:05
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The protagonist of 'Alcarràs' leaves the field: "I abandon, they want us to disappear"

Jordi Pujol Dolcet, Quimet de Alcarràs, leaves the field. The protagonist of Carla Simón's film has dedicated his whole life to agriculture, but he says that the situation is already unsustainable. "You can't be paid nowadays. I give up."

In an interview in El Món with RAC1, Pujol Dolcet has shown his support for the farmers' mobilizations, but has made it clear that there is no hope: "I saw for a long time that we were not doing well, that it was not possible to live off the countryside. I am with the farmers and the mobilizations are necessary, but there is nothing to do. In Europe, the farmers do not love us, they want us to disappear and that agriculture as it has been experienced until now does not exist anymore."

This Tuesday, the tractor units and road blockades that the farmers have called to demand that their demands be heard have been started. The agricultural sector demands less bureaucracy from administrations: "A farmer who wants to dedicate himself to the countryside must set up management for himself," explains Pujol Dolcet.

This farmer also regrets the paperwork that must be done to access aid that is essential for the functioning of the sector: "It is almost impossible for a small farmer to be able to do all the bureaucracy necessary to access aid."

Pujol Dolcet also demands that imports of products from outside the European Union be limited and that farmers be paid a fair price for what they produce: "This year the fruit has been charged at 40 or 45 cents, which is what "It's worth doing it again. We don't earn a dime. And fruit comes from other countries where they are allowed to use products that we are prohibited from using."

For all this, the protagonist of Alcarràs admits that a peasant "is one all his life" and that this is part of his DNA, but he regrets that he will no longer be able to make a living from it: "I am a peasant at heart, but I have given up."