With the eventual introduction of Trade Lanes, Kusari farmers were opened to competition with the rest of the Sirius Sector. They lobbied the government heavily, financed with Samura money, which had the most to lose from cheaper foreign competitors. The government acquiesced for several centuries, leading to astronomical Kusari Food prices. Eventually, under pressure from the Liberty government, Kusari reopened the agricultural imports market, despite intense lobbying by Samura.
Synth Foods moved in and became an overnight success, opening franchises in the urban areas of Honshu and New Tokyo. Demand for expensive Kyushu Food dropped, and many independent farmers were forced out of business. Feeling betrayed, some of the farmers proceeded to organize the Farmers Alliance, a militant group that lobbies for "farmers' rights" -- which include such things as government subsidies and restrictions on the sale of foreign foods in Kusari. In fact, the Farmers Alliance generally is opposed to foreign influence of any kind, particularly the Trade Lanes that have so damaged their livelihoods.
The general population ignores the Farmers Alliance for the most part, though they do have some support among older Kusari citizens. In reality The Farmers Alliance is little more than a puppet of Samura, who wishes to return to its Food and trade monopoly days. Samura uses them for much of its dirty work, attacking foreign shippers, Synth Foods, and even Kishiro on occasion. The Farmers Alliance likes the Hogosha, as they represent the traditional “criminals” of Kusari that fit in with society. They abhor the Golden Chrysanthemums and their disgusting drug habit. The Blood Dragons are also viewed with suspicion, since whatever Samura says is the truth.
Landwirtrechtbewegung History
Planet Stuttgart quickly became the primary food producer for all of Rheinland, with many plants from Earth being grown with ease. Vast plains were seeded with the grains and wheats that once fed the population of Earth. It was during the formative years that many of the huge farming clans and dynasties started. The largest of which were the Bachmeier, Erlichmann, Sterl and Weiss families, who controlled enormous plantations and farms across the planet. The farmers organized themselves into a collective known as the Weltbau Verein von Stuttgart (WVS), a powerful Farmers Rights union that successfully lobbied New Berlin for farming subsidies for centuries. The government money boosted Stuttgart's food output and generated a huge amount of wealth for the farmers, right up until the Eighty Year War.
As the war against the Gas Miners Guild wound down towards its ignoble conclusion, the Rheinland government, realizing that it was almost bankrupt, decided to cut all subsidies to planet Stuttgart almost overnight. The WVS protested massively, but the decision was final. The money they had once received in subsidies simply wasn't there anymore. Adding insult to injury, it became clear that the fledgling Rheinland republic had borrowed an incredible amount of money from Liberty to keep itself afloat. When Liberty called in on it's debts, Rheinland had little choice but to negotiate a settlement. As part of that debt renegotiation, Liberty corporations were allowed to settle themselves on Stuttgart.
With the Rheinland currency completely devalued and unemployment skyrocketing, the vast majority of the farmers on Stuttgart were virtually bankrupt along with the rest of their nation. Synth Foods was quick to move in, buying out several of the plantations and converting them into growing fields for their own genetically engineered, high yield crop. Many of the plantations suffered mysterious accidents prior to their bankruptcies, leading to accusations of sabotage. The farmers that held on to their traditional crop plantations were forced to lower the price for their produce in order to compete with Synth Foods. The cause of the farmers was lost on the rest of Rheinland however. Stuttgart, and the Synth Food plantations and food processing plants that were being erected planetside, were a source of employment in that time of crisis, and caused a massive immigration wave.
When Synth Foods decided to alter the climate in 770 AS by raising the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere of it's crops to speed up crop growth, the WVS protested heavily to the government, as the move had a disastrous effect on Stuttgart's climate as a whole. Synth Foods however had key members of the Rheinland government on its payroll, and the WVS went unheard. Outraged, radical elements among the farmers attacked the Synth Food terraforming facilities and razed its crops. In response Synth Foods pressured the Rheinland government to get rid of the WVS completely by replacing its leaders with Synth Food lackeys.
This was the final straw that triggered a full-blown revolt on the planet. Outraged farmers, environmental activists and sympathizers joined forces and founded the Landwirtschaftsbewegung (LWB), which according to rumors is led by a member of the Erlichmann family. The LWB began a campaign designed to drive Synth Foods out of Rheinland by destroying their assets - and their profit - both on Stuttgart planet, and in space. The farmer's movement was never able to keep Synth Foods from expanding. Synth Paste from Stuttgart now feeds a vast number of people throughout the sector, but attacks continue to this day.
The Alliance Today
The Farmers Alliance was originally a Kusari centric group that lobbied and fought for farmers rights. However, an agreement was reached with the remnants of the LWB and consolidated the movement into a much larger interhouse group, dedicated to rooting out Synth Foods. Despite inclusion of a foreign group, Samura still finds this front useful. The Alliance now operates as far south as the Omegas, and as far north as Gallia, both LWB and Farmers Alliance ships can be seen operating within these areas.
The Farmers Alliance and LWB don't always see eye to eye on things, Though favor of the Red Hessians fell out with the LWB as their organization crumbled, They had no love for the Corsairs to begin with, often being targeted by the Corsairs due to their previous Hessian relations. The LWB treats both groups with suspicion, and will likely never be able to fully corporate with the Hogosha or the Corsairs due to their non-Rheinland origins and previous aggression. Conflict also arises in the fact that the Alliance is a lot more tolerant of foreigners than the LWB.
The Agricultural Farmers' Society represents the semi-unite of the two groups, the resources they share, the same goal and ideology they follow. The AFS seeks to push their agenda Sirius wide, eventually topple the corporate giant that is Synth Foods, and return the farmers to the fields their ancestors once worked.
Neutral
Planetform INC.
Freelancers
Zoners
Unioners
The Maquis
Anyone Unlisted
Suspicious
Blood Dragons
Unione Corse
Technocracy of Auxo
Xenos
Artificial Intelligence
Hostile
Foreign House Militaries and Police
Foreign Corporations
Kishiro Technologies
Gas Miners Guild
Daumann Heavy Construction ***
ALG Waste Disposal ***
Red Hessians *
Golden Chrysanthemums
Coalition and its Military **
Outcasts
Bundschuh **
At War
Rheinland Police and Military
Kusari Police and Military
MND
Kempeitai
Nomads and Nomad infested humans
Synth Foods
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