Agriculture: environmental targets not achievable with direct payments
Published: Tuesday, Nov 21st 2023, 09:50
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Thirty years after their introduction, direct payments to agriculture have become very complex and are reaching their limits. Financial incentives in the agricultural sector alone are not enough to achieve social goals, especially in environmental protection.
Supplementary organic direct payments were a milestone in agricultural policy in 1993, as the Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) explained to the media in Liebefeld BE on Tuesday. They decoupled price and income policy.
With an annual volume of CHF 2.8 billion, direct payments are the most important instrument of Swiss agricultural policy alongside border protection. As they are reaching their limits, the Federal Council sets out in a postulate report that the future agricultural policy should include all players in the food chain. The Agricultural Report 2023 also outlines the possible further development of direct payments.
The FOAG also shows that the Swiss population particularly prefers eggs, milk, meat and potatoes from domestic production.
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