AGRICULTURE: WHAT DOES THE SWISS PUBLIC EXPECT?PresentationDairy Press Tour Switzerland 2013

Sermin Faki, Parliament correspondent«Zentralschweiz am Sonntag»

What does the public expect?

•Good and healthy products for a reasonable price!

• (Well, it’s not that simple. Sorry.)

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Imaginations of Agriculture

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Imaginations of Agriculture

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Average size of farms in comparison

Imaginations of Agriculture

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Imaginations of Agriculture• Swiss are convinced that

• regulations concerning animal welfare and environmentally friendly production are stricter than abroad

• Swiss food is produced closer to nature than abroad

• Swiss agricultural products have a higher quality than imported goods

• Swiss agricultural products are worth their (high) price

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Surveys show that …• ethical husbandry• environmentally sound farming• production of healthy food and security of supply

… are the most frequently mentionedexpectations. Also important are

• reasonable income for farmers• preservation of cultural landscape

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Fragmentation of the Swiss public

37%

36%

27%

3 different types

Conservatives Ecologists Reformers

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University of St. Gallen, 2007

Conservatives• preserve the traditional agriculture and the rural culture

• small, familiy driven farms

• security of supply (self-sufficiency) is more important than ecology and animal welfare

• so opening-up of the Swiss market

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Reformers• market-oriented

• use of technological progress (including GM)

• ecomomization of agriculure

• opening-up of the market

• no strict regulations considering animal welfare and environmentally sound production (prices and competitiveness)

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Ecologists• animal welfare and environmentally sound production

• preservation of traditional species and breeds

• preservation of precious land

• Ecologits are themselves fractioned in reformers and conservatives.

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Why this fragmentation?• urban vs rural population

• high prices

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dairy food, eggs

fruits and veg meat0

50

100

150

200

250

CHEU 27

OECD

Why this fragmentation?• consumers are also tax payers• 3.35 billion Swiss Francs subsidies per year

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Outlook• Bad news for traditional farmers:

• urban population will grow

• due to high spending power self-sufficiency isn’t a big deal

• Therefore reform-oriented fraction will grow.

Thank you!

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