AGRICULTURE: WHAT DOES THE SWISS PUBLIC EXPECT? Presentation Dairy 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.) Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

Imaginations of Agriculture Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

Imaginations of Agriculture Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland Average size of farms in comparison

Imaginations of Agriculture Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

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 Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

Surveys show that … ethical husbandry environmentally sound farming production of healthy food and security of supply … are the most frequently mentioned expectations. Also important are reasonable income for farmers preservation of cultural landscape Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

Fragmentation of the Swiss public Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland 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 Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

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) Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

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. Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

Why this fragmentation? urban vs rural population high prices Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland OECD

Why this fragmentation? consumers are also tax payers 3.35 billion Swiss Francs subsidies per year Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland

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! Agriculture: What does the Swiss Public expect? Dairy Press Tour Switzerland