Agricultural production in Switzerland is in a serious crisis. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and the threat from new pests is growing. To meet these challenges, farmers need effective plant protection products – and these are precisely what they lack. In addition, ever-new federal regulations are making work in the fields considerably more difficult.

The situation has become so acute that Switzerland's self-sufficiency level has fallen to a maximum of 50 percent. The situation is particularly dramatic for plant-based foods: according to the Tages Anzeiger newspaper, the share here is now only 37 percent.

Switzerland lagging behind in international comparison

Switzerland performs miserably in international comparison. While Germany covers around 88 per cent of its food requirements itself and France is even completely self-sufficient, food security in Switzerland cannot be guaranteed without imports.

Yet there is certainly demand for domestic products. Plant proteins, legumes and cereal products are experiencing a real boom. But domestic production is lagging behind. The cultivation of plant-based foods has been declining for over ten years, according to David Brugger from the Swiss Farmers' Union, quoted in the Tages Anzeiger report.

The result: ‘What we don't produce ourselves is replaced by cheaper goods from abroad,’ says Brugger. Economist Mathias Binswanger also confirms in an interview with the Tages Anzeiger that costs in Switzerland are high and prices are low.

Retailers are coming under additional pressure: they are often accused of charging too much for organic products. As a result, they too are turning to cheaper imports, even for organic food.

The example of René Ritter, a farmer in the Basel area, shows how serious the situation is for individual producers. He specialises in growing plant proteins, cultivating chickpeas and other legumes. His results are sobering: in three years, he has had two total crop failures. Instead of the expected two to three tonnes, he was recently able to harvest just one wheelbarrow of chickpeas, as he revealed to the Zürcher Bauern newspaper. For him, one thing is clear: without effective plant protection, protein production in Switzerland has no future.

Farmers call for tariffs on legumes

To protect domestic production, farmers and label organisations are therefore calling for tariffs on imported legumes. In view of the smouldering tariff war with the US, this demand is likely to come to nothing. This makes access to modern plant protection products all the more crucial. But here, too, there are problems. According to the NZZ, around 660 applications for new plant protection products were pending with the federal government at the end of 2024 – a massive enforcement deficit that is detrimental to Swiss farmers and security of supply.

Particularly contradictory: plant proteins such as lentils, beans and chickpeas are specifically recommended in the federal government's revised food pyramid for autumn 2024. However, it is precisely the cultivation of these crops that is being made extremely difficult by the increasing restrictions on plant protection.

Anyone who takes food security in Switzerland seriously must no longer abandon productive agriculture. This urgently requires better access to effective plant protection products and a policy that recognises the real situation of farmers – instead of placing further burdens on them.