On June 13, a vote is to be taken in Switzerland on two very extreme initiatives that would fundamentally change agriculture there. In addition, there could be a shortage of food and sharply rising prices, writes the agricultural blogger Dr. Willi Kremer-Schillings in his latest entry www.bauerwilli.com. Specifically, there are two suggestions:
- The Drinking Water Initiative (TWI) wants only those companies to receive direct payments that produce pesticide-free. In addition, antibiotics may not be used prophylactically and only as many animals may be kept as can be fed with feed produced on the farm. The companies that cannot comply with this should no longer receive direct payments in the future.
- The Pesticide Prohibition Initiative (PVI) prohibits the use of synthetic pesticides in agricultural production. The importation for commercial purposes of foodstuffs that contain synthetic pesticides or have been produced using synthetic pesticides is also prohibited.
Kremer-Schillings spoke to Samuel Guggisberg, President of IG BauernUnternehmen, an association of farmers and agricultural entrepreneurs who are committed to rational, productive agriculture.
According to Guggisberg, Switzerland currently has a food self-sufficiency rate of around 54%. “This will worsen massively if the initiatives are accepted, because the average yields will drop and in some cases total failures can also occur. If the initiative text is strictly implemented, I assume that Switzerland will not be able to find enough food of the required quality, be it at home or abroad, ”said the farmer.
Downstream operations in the 1st and 2nd processing stages are also affected by the pesticide initiative. The much-vaunted Swiss chocolate industry would not find enough cocoa beans on the world market to meet the requirements.
The ban on pesticides would also include biocides, Guggisberg said. Without detergents and disinfectants, suitable animal health and food safety can no longer be thought of. “It starts with stall hygiene and the cleaning of the pipe milking system and ends with the system hygiene in the second processing stage. Around 160,000 jobs are at stake here, ”warns the President. All of this leads to massively higher prices for regionally produced food. He suspects that the initiators did not consider all these aspects to the end.
Beet and rapeseed without pesticides?
The cultivation of sugar beet or rapeseed without synthetic pesticides is in fact not possible, says farmer Willi in the conversation. When asked whether the crops missing from crop rotation are not counterproductive in terms of biodiversity, Guggisberg confirms that the initiatives for the environment and biodiversity are doing a disservice.
“The drinking water initiative, for example, bans all pesticides, strictly speaking also biological pesticides. So if you still want to receive direct payments, you will only be able to produce according to the Bio-Demeter guidelines. At the moment organic farms receive more direct payments than ÖLN farms. The ecological performance certificate (ÖLN) is already mandatory to receive direct payments. The lower yields result in large income deficits for the farms. These could be compensated through the BIO direct payments, which would, however, almost double the agricultural budget. Or it would have to be completely absorbed by massively higher prices than organic farming already has today. Both seem very unlikely to me at the moment, ”says the entrepreneur.
All other farms would intensify production and, for example, reintegrate the ecological compensation areas into food production. Of course, that would only be possible if the pesticide initiative were rejected and only the drinking water initiative was accepted.
According to surveys, it will be very scarce
Kremer-Schillings also asked how small-scale Switzerland intends to feed animals only with their own feed, how food prices then develop and how likely it is that the initiatives will be successful. Read that and why Guggisberg has real worries about consent here in the full interview.
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