11.11.2023

Sustainability in a precarious situation

Dear readers,

Today is November 11. Why is this important? It’s not just because Carnival begins at 11:11 a.m. on 11.11 in many places. St. Martin’s Day is hugely important for agriculture, as November 11 is seen as the end of the agricultural year. In the Middle Ages, farmers had to hand over part of their harvest on this day – this was known as the tithe. Back then, taxes were paid in kind. This was a particularly bitter pill to swallow if harvests had been poor. Smaller harvests are still critical for farmers today.

This was shown in a very drastic fashion in mid-October in a demonstration organized by the Berner Bauern Verband (Farmers’ Association of Bern). As reported by BauernZeitung, farmers showed members of the public on the Bundesplatz pitted potatoes and vegetables that had been eaten by pests. Under the slogan “NO to food waste, YES to modern crop protection”, the farmers were demanding an urgent change of tack in terms of the approval of plant protection products. The demonstration illustrated that resource-efficient agriculture isn’t possible without the use of plant protection methods. This is because the poor harvests that occur if pesticides aren’t used do not justify the resources that are spent in cultivating said crops.

Markus Lüscher from the farmer’s association of Bern defends his position in his speech against the policy of prohibition. He stated that pests are on the rise, while an ever-increasing number of active substances are being banned and the approval pipeline is congested. If farmers cannot utilize plant protection, they will barely be able to fulfill their supply contracts. “For this reason, we do not want to, cannot and must not call for direct payments,” proclaims Lüscher. In the medium term, important crops can no longer be produced in Switzerland under these conditions, he continues. The farmers’ protest makes it clear that plant protection is vital.

2023 will certainly be a hard year to look back on for Swiss potato producers. In October, Aargauer Zeitung ran the following headline: “Switzerland is down 100,000 tonnes of potatoes” (“Der Schweiz fehlen 100’000 Tonnen Kartoffeln”). The potato harvests of farmers in the Aargau region of Switzerland fell by 33%. What’s more, the quality of the harvested potatoes is poor. This was also felt at the Zweifel crisps factory in Spreitenbach. As reported in Aargauer Zeitung, Zweifel had to import 15–18% of the potatoes it needed from outside of Switzerland. Regionaljournal Zürich/Schaffhausen also reported that crisps producers had to import more potatoes from outside of Switzerland. The Vice President of the Swiss Association of Potato Producers had the following to say to the radio station: “I have a shortfall of 50% in the potato varieties used for fries and crisps.”

In addition to the heat, potato harvests were also heavily affected by a water shortage and potato diseases. In contrast to the radio report, the Landwirtschaftlicher Informationsdienst (LID: “Agricultural Information Service”) has a very clear idea of what the reasons are for the declining harvests – the ban on plant protection products. And it agrees with the Bernese farmers. “The hot and dry summer provided favorable conditions for potato beetles to procreate and increase in number,” explains Niklaus Ramseyer, who also highlights that the emergence of new fungal and bacterial diseases is also a cause for concern. During this summer season, resistance management proved to be particularly problematic: “The reduction in the number of active substances able to be used carries huge risks for the development of resistances,” he warns. The range of active substances available is shrinking and new agents do not appear to be on the horizon.

The lack of plant protection products is also a concern for other crops. As BauernZeitung reported, the cotton bollworm population is constantly proliferating. This is an invasive species of moth that was originally native to the tropics and is now increasingly making its way north. This has been made possible by global warming. The problem, however, is not the moths themselves, but rather the ravenous caterpillars. The potential for damage is huge. They love to gorge themselves on maize as well as on other crops. However, invasive species don’t just pose a threat to agriculture. According to the UN Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, invasive species are jointly responsible for the extinction of species. They have in fact played a major role in 60% of cases in which animals and plants have gone extinct.

In its report entitled “Swiss Food Security 2023”, the Swiss federal governmental writes the following: “For example, a single unusually warm winter may be enough to encourage invasive non-native pests to migrate to and settle in new areas.” In instances in which food security is quickly and substantially eroded due to harmful organisms, experts support the use of plant protection products. BauernZeitung also summarizes why plant protection ought to remain an option to be taken. The only astonishing aspects here are that the world of politics has not yet taken the appropriate measures, and the obstructionist policy with respect to plant protection has not been decisively done away with.

At present, there is nothing we can do to combat the cotton bollworm’s appetite for maize. There are no means available to stop the ravenous tropical caterpillar. This means that the affected farmers have to just continue bearing these huge losses and the wasting of resources if the maize crops aren’t yielding large harvests. For more than 40 years now, no synthetic chemical plant protection products have been used on maize crops in line with the IPM strategy. If the IP strategy is pursued until the bitter end, the consequences are clear. Our reliance on imports will rise – even for maize. There are reports of there being a solution: genetically modified Bt corn. What’s more, an Agroscope study has shown that this is even safe for water organisms. However, Switzerland is shooting itself in the foot with its moratorium against GMOs. The problem is that farmers are not allowed to spray their crops, nor are they allowed to grow crop varieties that have similar in-built defense mechanisms.

There are similar problems with the cultivation of rapeseed. Rapeseed farming in Switzerland is at risk. A lack of approved plant protection products is also a problem here. Rapeseed oil is in high demand among the country’s food manufacturers, as it serves as a vital alternative to imported palm oil. However, a lack of approved plant protection products is proving to be problematic here, forcing manufacturers to be increasingly reliant on imports. In addition, the spotted-wing drosophila is destroying cherry harvests. This also has implications for standard tree crops. Caring for and maintaining these trees is a very complicated and expensive task, which is further exacerbated by the invasive spotted-wing drosophila causing huge damage to the fruit. Rapid solutions are needed to protect the trees – these even include plant protection products. Another example is the codling moth. According to Swiss farmers, the conditions this year have been ideal for the pest, allowing their population to spread throughout fruit crops. Here, too, there is supposedly a remedy: An insecticide has been waiting for approval for a long time now.

An affluent country like Switzerland can always fall back on food imports. However, climate change is increasing the risk that this will simply no longer be possible. Extreme weather events in key grain cultivation regions can put food security at risk in many countries, as Schweizer Bauer reported back in summer of this year. An increasing risk of crop failures is feared, particularly due to the El Niño weather phenomenon. Smaller harvests are causing food prices to rise and are contributing to sharp rises in inflation. Switzerland’s carbon footprint abroad is a topic repeatedly under discussion. However, we read very little about our “food footprint”, despite this increasing with the rise in food imports. Nor do we read about how likely it is that we are stealing calories from a hungry person’s plate.

The problems are clear, but the facts are always glossed over. In contrast, the Bernese farmers have got to the heart of the matter. They want to protect their crops and they don’t want to receive direct payments for poor-quality products. However, a recently published study by the Swiss Agricultural Research platform mistakenly presents this concept as being the solution. The study states that the reduced use of plant protection products has resulted in massively diminished wheat and rapeseed harvests. The study authors subsequently conclude that this approach will remain “cost-efficient” as long as crop failures are compensated for by direct payments. However, this is something that is out of the question. The farmers from Bern know better. There is no sustainable agriculture without marketable products. And we are of the opinion that they are right. Because without real economic viability, sustainability is in a precarious situation.

The swiss-food editorial team