Farmers Defence Force Belgium has announced plans to stage a protest in Antwerp this coming Friday. The demonstration aims to bring a convoy of tractors into the city to express their

opposition to Flanders' strategy for tackling nitrogen emissions.

This organization is a recently established Belgian counterpart of the Dutch pressure group with the same name. The Dutch group has played a significant role in orchestrating extensive protests in the Netherlands over the past few years. Until now, Belgium has witnessed comparatively smaller demonstrations of this nature.

The Belgian division is now urging for a large-scale protest in Antwerp, with participants using tractors or other modes of transportation. The demonstration is scheduled to occur on Friday at noon at the Spoor Oost location, featuring several speakers addressing nitrogen-related concerns.

Participants will gather in various municipalities within the Antwerp province to form a convoy bound for the city. Simultaneously, another group will assemble at Antwerp Central station and proceed on foot to the protest site.

Similar to the situation in the Netherlands, Flemish measures aimed at curbing nitrogen emissions have triggered frustration among certain farmers. A statement from the protest asserts, "The rural areas, cherished by all for their leisure, are now at risk of vanishing! We've grown weary of the theatrics presented by our politicians, and it's time for the masks to come off."

Farmers Defence Force Belgium contends that the agricultural sector is receiving unequal treatment in comparison to the industrial sector within the policy proposals targeting nitrogen reduction. They highlight a symbolic instance of this inequality as the political backing for chemical company Ineos' proposal to construct an ethane cracker in the Antwerp port. The pressure group also alleges that the Flemish government's policies are based on inaccurate nitrogen emission data.