Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Markets and Value Chains

The main aim of the study is to evaluate the current product marketing situation and devise possible strategies for improving producer prices. The study looks at six value chains: milk and milk products, beef and pork, poultry for meat production, vegetables, potatoes, and bread cereals. We first examine the present situation in each value chain in detail. This involves a review of the literature and statistics and bilateral talks with experts and professionals working on the sales front. We also produce precise and validated maps of the value chains and identify the strategic stakeholder groups. Professionals and representatives of various agencies then take part in a joint workshop in order to select realistic strategic approaches and discuss the required financial and non-financial support. We are conducting the study with AGRIDEA on behalf of ILFD (Direktion der Institutionen und der Land- und Forstwirtschaft) in Freiburg canton.

What is the economic situation of agriculture in the French-speaking part of Switzerland in 2015? How should it position itself strategically? The study has three parts: statistical analysis of the structures and economic situation of agriculture in the region, strategic analysis of 20 typical farms distributed across various cantons and analysis of four agricultural value chains, namely bread cereals, wine, milk and poultry meat. This study was commissioned by AGORA (Association des groupements et organisations romands de l’agriculture).

This study lays the groundwork for an objective discussion of the effects on Swiss agriculture of a broad opening of the market, taking the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as an example. We also analyse various possible options for Switzerland – at political and sectoral level – if such an agreement is signed.

On behalf of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), we are investigating the potential of selective autonomous measures to reduce border protection in the agriculture and food sector. The study contributes to the discussion of Switzerland as a ‘high-price island’; food is an important factor in this since producer and consumer prices for food are higher than in neighbouring countries. The aim is to identify products that have unnecessary or unnecessarily high tariff protection that could be reduced without adversely affecting domestic agricultural production. The focus is on four categories of products or tariffs: products of no relevance to Swiss agriculture, specific particularly high tariffs, unnecessary or unnecessarily high protection in the quota regime, and explicit or implicit industry protection arising from tariffs for processed agricultural products. The effects of the possible reductions on trade flows, the processing sector and price transmission in the value chain are also evaluated.

With the Young Farmers’ Commission (JULA) we have launched a cooperation project to analyse the success factors involved in boosting added value, with a focus on the milk market. The question is how value added can be increased in the current situation, including in individual projects. Are there key factors that promote an increase in added value? We also analyse how organisation of the sector in the market and at political level can promote or even trigger increases in added value.

Fish production in Switzerland is currently booming. The Swiss are eating more fish than ever before. Domestic fish production accounts for only a fraction of total consumption. Fish breeding is a promising line of business for Swiss farmers. However, spatial planning law and the status of fish as wild animals mean that fish production is permitted only as a sideline. As a result, some farmers have been forced to stop fish production after a relatively short time. In addition, some farmers have underestimated the financial and technical challenges or lacked sufficient understanding of the value chain. This is partly because there has been no public overview of the Swiss fish market. In the light of the Directive on the Promotion of Quality and Sustainability in the Agriculture and Food Sector (QuNaV) issued by the Federal Office of Agriculture (FOAG) and with financial support from the Swiss Farmers’ Association (Schweizer Bauernverband) and Fenaco we have closed this gap and produced an analysis of the Swiss fish market. The aim was to provide an overview and identify potentials along the value chain.