Switzerland cuts support for farmers to increase defense funding

Photo by Chuanchai Pundej on Unsplash

The Swiss government plans to adjust the current budget, which will require cuts, including in agriculture. The Swiss parliament is pushing for an austerity package of almost four billion euros. The agricultural sector is making a significant contribution with cuts of around a quarter of a billion, including through reductions in direct payments to farmers. 

Swiss agriculture is highly dependent on government support, particularly due to the high costs of sustainable agriculture and the challenging regional conditions in the country.

According to the government in Bern, the cutback is necessary to increase other expenditure, such as defence, due to the changing international security situation. In addition, there are already calls to spare elderly care, development aid and agriculture. This creates tension between political parties and various interest groups, including farmers' organisations.

Swiss farmers are reacting furiously to the austerity plans and have mobilized with protests and demonstrations with tractors in various parts of the country. The farmers point out that their purchasing power has already decreased significantly in recent years, partly due to rising costs and low market prices for agricultural products such as milk.

A major objection of the farmers is that the cuts go against the aim of food security and sustainable agriculture. They criticize what they see as a “wrong agricultural policy”, in which contradictory regulations and low prices drive them into a corner. 

A petition with 65,000 signatures was delivered to the Swiss government last week, demanding that key cuts be reversed and that agricultural prices be better aligned with production costs.

These Swiss actions do not come out of nowhere: last year, farmers in other European countries, such as Germany and France, took action in protest of national agricultural policy. At that time, things remained quiet in Swiss agricultural circles. Swiss agricultural organizations, such as the Schweizer Bauernverband (SBV), have now rebelled against possible cuts.

The Swiss farmers are even threatening to escalate their protests, including possible blockades with tractors in urban areas. They are not only calling for the maintenance of subsidies, but also for reforms that justify a fair price for their products, so that their businesses remain viable.