FARMERS hope strike action that started on Monday will serve as a wake-up call to the Ecuadorian government, forcing it to enter dialogue and act over poor working conditions.

The national walkout went ahead despite threats from President Guillermo Lasso to lock up those he accused of paralysing the country and hampering its economic recovery.

More than 8,000 banana, rice and sugarcane producers started the indefinite strike in response to Mr Lasso’s continued refusal to abide by an agreement on minimum support prices on agricultural goods.

This has seen the price of a sack of rice fall from about $29 to $22  (£15.88) during the coronavirus pandemic, pushing farmworkers into poverty.

The Montubia Agricultural Association has called for dialogue on this and other issues, including debt relief for small and medium-sized farms.

It hoped that mass protests would be a wake-up call for the Ecuadorian government and called for them to improve working conditions for agricultural workers.

The farmers’ strike is the first major test for Mr Lasso, a former banker, who defied polls to beat leftist front-runner Andres Arauz in the second round of voting in April.