Farmers protest in Colombia

(Vatican Radio) A demonstration in Bogota's main plaza combined a mishmash of farmers, students, teachers, health workers and trouble makers. Masked youths clashed with riot police, who responded with drenching water cannon and volleys of tear gas.

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos has appealed for an end to violence and a way forward with dialogue. Yet eleven days since the farmers started disruption via road blocks across the country, talks between their leaders and Government negotiators, remain mired in deadlock.

The famers says harsh current conditions are driving them to bankruptcy and despair, especially due to floods of cheap competing goods, following free trade agreements with Europe and the United States, which are also driving up fuel and production costs.

The Government is promising cheaper fertilisers, better prices for home produced goods and more affordable loans. But so far, this hasn't gone far enough to resolve a spreading and deepening crisis.

Listen to James Blears’ report: