Switzerland “is anything but a romanticised paradise” for nature and biodiversity, according to Jonas Schälle, project manager of the country’s Agriculture BirdLife Project—one of the largest nature conservation organisations in Switzerland.

Despite a major policy shift in the 1990s when the Swiss government started to pay farmers for public goods such as management of landscapes and biodiversity following decades of intense production, Schälle, a sociologist specialising in agroecology, says progress has now stalled.

Jonas Schalle addresses the IFAJ Congress in Interlaken, Switzerland. \ Raphael Hunerfauth

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“We have targets for reduced use of pesticides and to tackle the problem of nutrient surplus, but in the last couple of years we have been at a standstill with regards to environmental progress. It is not fast enough to catch up with the huge problems we have.”

Endangered species

Addressing the 2024 International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ) Congress in Interlaken, he explained that Switzerland “has longer red lists of endangered species” than neighbouring countries of Germany, France, Italy, and Austria.

“The facts and figures of science speak a very different language. One-third of animal and plant species are endangered in Switzerland, as are half of the natural inhabitants—meaning forests, wetlands, and agricultural land. Species living in, or requiring, agricultural land as a habitat are among the most affected.

“We also have 13 environmental targets for the sector of agriculture, and today none of those 13 are achieved,” he said, while also acknowledging that biodiversity is in a poor state across all national sectors, not just in agriculture.

“Switzerland has excellent prerequisites for a nature-friendly agriculture but uses them insufficiently.

“We, as environmental organisations, feel very much that we cannot wait until 2050, so there is a need together with key stakeholders, industry, and the Swiss Farmers’ Union to implement this vision as soon as possible.

Dairy cows ready for milking. \ Claire McCormack

“We want to become a role model in reality, not just in fairy tales,” he said.

Meanwhile, at another IFAJ Congress event, Angelika Hardegger, a renowned reporter at independent mainstream online magazine Die Republik, shared her views on why agricultural issues continue to generate significant political support in Switzerland too.

Angelika Hardegger addresses the IFAJ Congress in Wilderswil, Switzerland. \ Raphael Hunerfauth

“We see agriculture first and foremost as a political power. Several people in the Swiss parliament have an affiliation to farming – this means that either they are farmers, or they live on a farm, or they have mandate with an agricultural organisation.

“Agriculture is quite small in Switzerland; it is shrinking, but Swiss agriculture really pushes to politics; it pushes for influence, and they do it with success. And the result is that agriculture and Swiss politics are now over-represented

“But we’ve seen quite a lot of plebiscites on agriculture recently, which indicates that there is something that civil society wants to change,” she said.

Key figures

  • 48,000: number of farms (down from 80,000 in 1996).
  • 3,470: number of farms (7.2%) run by women, with numbers rising.
  • 22ha: average farm size (mixed system).
  • 160,000: people employed in agriculture (down from 200,000 in 1996).
  • CHF$12bn: revenue generated by Swiss agriculture in 2022 (€12.7bn).
  • <1% of gross domestic product comes from agriculture.
  • 20% of cattle spend their summer on the Alps to take pressure off valley meadows and enable stockpiling for winter.

    • Dairy cows ready for milking on the Moosalp in the Upper Valais region of Switzerland. \ Claire Mc Cormack

  • The number of specialised dairy and beef farms over 30ha is increasing.
  • Switzerland is renowned for high-quality cheese and meat products. Crop farming, fruit growing and horticulture account for over one-third of agricultural revenue.
  • Swiss farmers produce over 50% of food consumed in the country, with products such as cheese, baked goods and beverages also exported.
  • Agriculture uses about half of Switzerland’s land area, with more than one-third accounted for by alpine pastures in Graubünden, Valais, Bern and central Switzerland.
  • Switzerland has the world’s lowest livestock density limits.
  • Interconnection between agriculture and tourism is key.
  • In addition to cows, pigs, poultry, goats and sheep, Swiss farmers also keep exotic animals such as alpacas and water buffaloes.
  • Switzerland has some of the strictest animal protection laws globally.
  • Average conventional milk price: approx. 70c/l (September 2024).
  • Average milk price – gruyère cheese: approx. €1/l (September 2024).