How Swiss farmers keep society on their side

A political system of direct democracy and continual provision of basic information on food production are the secrets behind ongoing public support for agriculture in Switzerland, according to the vice-president of the country’s leading farm organisation.

Fritz Glauser of the Swiss Farmers’ Union made the remarks after 63% of voters rejected a hotly debated referendum to increase the amount of total land set aside for nature preservation from the current level of 19% up to 30%.

The outcome of the so-called “biodiversity initiative,” which secured a turnout of approximately 2.5m people on 22 September, follows the dismissal of several other farm-related referendums in the non-EU country where citizens play a major role in political decision-making by voting in up to four referendums each year.

In 2022, the Swiss electorate voted against a proposal to ban intensive livestock farming; it also rejected a proposal to ban the use of artificial pesticides in 2021. Such plebiscites are possible because, under Switzerland’s direct democracy system, citizens can initiate a popular referendum by collecting 100,000 valid signatures within an 18-month period.

Speaking to the Irish Farmers Journal on foot of this year’s International Federation of Agricultural Journalists’ (IFAJ) Congress in Interlaken, Switzerland, Glauser – runs a 40ha organic mixed farm (dairy, beef, pigs, and tillage) in Fribourg in the southwest of the country – described the result as “good news for farmers.”

“It is very good for us; Swiss people are on our side. But I’m a bit sad about the discussion that happened before the vote because farmers were portrayed as all the reason for the situation with nature – that we are responsible, that everything is because of our ‘bad work’, and that is very sad.

“But in the end, the population thinks our efforts on greening work are OK. We have to keep doing more with alternative production methods to answer the wishes of our citizens – but the consumer is not the same as the citizen.

“Thirty-seven per cent gave support to this initiative, yet only 10% of people in our shops buy organic, so the other 90% don’t really care how their food is produced, so it is quite a difference,” he said.

He outlined that many factors are impacting ecological losses in Switzerland, where the Alps cover roughly 58% of the country.

Biodiversity

“Biodiversity is getting attacked from human society, in general, from pollution, from traffic. Switzerland is a small country with a high population of more than nine million people.

“Each citizen has an impact on nature, so each citizen must come up with a solution to stop the diminution of biodiversity. For example, people could plant trees beside their houses; everyone has to participate, including farmers.”

Asked why he believes the public continues to support the views of Swiss farmers when agri-related referendums go to the polls, he replied: “Not all countries in Europe experience what we experience – in many countries, agriculture has lost touch with their populations.

“In Switzerland, four times in a year we have to vote for all these referendums and initiatives. So the population is used to studying agricultural issues; this is a good beginning for the work we are doing.”

He also highlighted the unity of the country’s farm organisations and their ongoing commitment to general public communications. Unlike the individualised farm lobby structure in Ireland, the Swiss Farmers’ Union is an umbrella organisation representing 25 farmer associations and 60 technical organisations, boasting a membership of almost all 48,000 farms in the country. As such, the Swiss agricultural sector can effectively speak as one collective voice.

“Our farm lobby is very strong. All year, we make events for the population – farmers go to schools to explain farming; we bring schools onto farms. We have events and markets for farmers in the towns with explanations of what we do and to answer questions. We are active all the time in trying to get in touch with the people.

“It costs us quite a lot of money, but we have to do it. We share basic communication, not technical communication, about how we are farming. We go to the citizens, and we try to bring them to us. That is our work that is never finished.

“It’s getting more and more difficult to keep people in touch with agriculture. When I started my career, almost all citizens had a grandparent or parent coming from farming – now, you don’t have that anymore, so it is a big challenge to keep people connected.”

Income supports

Christian Hofer, director-general of the Federal Office for Agriculture in Switzerland, which is responsible for agricultural policy and direct payments, also told the IFAJ Congress that, since the 1990s, farm income supports have been constitutionally linked to the delivery of environmental goods that are demanded by society.

Since then, Swiss society has contributed some CHF$2.8bn (€2.9bn) annually to support multi-functional small-scale farming in exchange for food production and conservation of the natural landscape.

To participate in the direct payment systems, a farmer must fulfil many requirements: sophisticated crop rotation, a minimum of 7% of the land for biodiversity, nutrient balance, and the highest animal welfare standards. Currently, about 90% of Swiss agricultural land is participating in this programme.

However, over the last five years, major discussion has emerged about how this policy should continue in parallel with new 2050 climate strategy goals for Swiss food and agriculture and a commitment to maintain the country’s 50% production and 50% import system.

“In Switzerland, more or less, 50% of the revenue of the farmers is supported by the government and the rest they get by the markets – so we are in the top three in the world in terms of agricultural support... but it is the will of society that we keep agriculture on a small scale,” Hofer said.

“The agricultural policy system has reached its limit in terms of complexity and administrative workload. The future policy for agriculture and the food sector requires a systems approach and the involvement of all players in the value chain.