"Then in June, the first heatwave hit, and it simply never stopped," says Adrian Aebi, CEO of the Swiss Hail Insurance Company (SH Group), in an interview with the NZZ. The heat was a massive burden on farmers – resulting in severe yield losses.

Spring-sown crops were hit particularly hard, including sugar beets, potatoes, and corn. "For these crops, yield losses reached up to 30 percent in some cases. That is extremely high," Aebi notes. At the end of August, a severe hail storm caused further widespread damage.

Pressure across Europe: EU revises yield forecasts downward

Switzerland is not alone in facing these challenges. Recent figures from the EU show that the situation worsened significantly this summer. The European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) has sharply lowered its yield forecasts for all summer crops across the EU. Depending on the crop, expected yields are now up to 14 percent below the five-year average.

Farmers are facing higher costs alongside lower yields. Aebi is therefore calling for higher prices for agricultural produce. However, prices do not rise on their own. When a product becomes scarce, Switzerland increases import volumes – keeping retail prices low. As a result, consumers hardly notice the impact of the drought at the store.

On top of this, there is a time lag. "What determines prices this year are last year's events," explains economist Tomas Dvorak from Oxford Economics to SRF. This year's European grain harvest, which is around ten percent smaller, is therefore only likely to be felt at the checkout in 2027.

For Aebi, this represents a fundamental issue: if producers continue to bear rising costs and risks without seeing any reflection in market prices, the system will fail in the long run. "If we carry on like this, agriculture will bleed dry." Relying solely on state aid is the wrong approach, according to Aebi. Instead, retailers and ultimately consumers must step up. All stakeholders need to gather around the table to find joint solutions.

Drought-tolerant varieties essential

Israel demonstrates that agriculture is possible even with minimal rainfall – albeit with significant effort. Adaptations are needed in Switzerland as well: more drought-tolerant crop varieties, healthier soils, and more consistent soil cover. In addition, irrigation infrastructure needs to be expanded and made more efficient, using retention basins and water-saving technologies.

This makes plants capable of enduring heat and water scarcity all the more crucial. Stressed plants are also more vulnerable to diseases and pests – a growing concern as fewer crop protection tools remain available.

What is needed are resilient crop varieties that better withstand heat, drought, diseases, and invasive pests. To ensure plant breeding keeps pace with climate change, innovative approaches such as precision breeding via genome editing offer promising solutions. They are more targeted and faster than conventional breeding methods.

Fair pricing and smart water management are vital. But without resilient, heat- and drought-resistant crop varieties, agriculture will sooner or later hit a wall. Today’s challenges cannot be solved with yesterday’s methods. Sustainable agriculture depends on innovative breeding techniques – and these should not be unnecessarily delayed.

Keywords: Drought · Agriculture · Yield losses · Crop insurance · Summer crops · Import volumes · Climate change