Farmers are at the heart of weighty political decisions in 2020. The Swiss Farmers’ Union calls for a coherent strategy for Swiss agriculture in view of popular initiatives, the free trade agreement with Mercosur and the Agricultural Policy 22.
The agricultural sector wants to convince citizens to say no to the initiatives “For clean drinking water and healthy food” and “For a Switzerland free of synthetic pesticides”, which will probably be on the agenda for federal elections in November. For him, these two texts do not bring what they promise at first.
Indeed, they will undermine indigenous production, said the USP in a statement released Friday after a press conference in Worb (BE).
“Too extreme” initiatives
Today, agriculture produces what people buy. The latter would therefore already be able to determine production: it could, for example, favor organic production, or even make Switzerland a 100% organic country, advises the farmers’ defense organization.
If the two initiatives come to pass, to believe that everyone will immediately want to consume more than organic products and will be ready to pay more is a pipe dream for the USP. In reality, indigenous production will drop and conventional products sold today will be imported, she argues.
Mercosur: antithesis of the two initiatives
A second challenge is the free trade agreement with Mercosur, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. In a way, it presents itself as the antithesis of the two initiatives.
In this context, “official” Switzerland makes little mention of the sustainability and protection of animals, explains the resigning director of the USP Jacques Bourgeois. For the food produced in South America, the means used and the manner in which the animals were kept and fed seem to be of no importance.
There, Switzerland is even ready to make concessions which considerably weaken the local production system, which experiences very different conditions.
Conflicting requirements
PA 22 represents a third challenge. This policy must resolve the squaring of the circle, taking into account all the contradictory demands placed on agriculture.
PA 22 should make agriculture even more sustainable, strengthen animal welfare, but also rely more on competitiveness and the market. “You don’t have to be a diviner to know that she won’t make it through,” said Markus Ritter, president of the USP. The USP therefore asks the Federal Council to define a clear strategy and to follow it consistently. (Ps / nxp)
Created: 03.01.2020, 10h47
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