22.10.2022
Blackouts in agriculture too?
Dear readers,
There are lessons that can be learned from the current energy policy. With unrealistic "strategies" we have outsourced the security of supply in winter in the case of electricity. The answer to the energy question is apparently increasing numbers of imports. However, this was not communicated in this way. Instead, the talk has been of phasing out nuclear energy and expanding electricity production from renewable energies. But the fact remains that in Switzerland we are less and less able to meet our electricity demand of 58 billion kilowatt hours per year ourselves. And this was the case even before the war in Ukraine. During the winter months, we have relied on electricity imports from abroad. And now we are unsure whether the imports from French nuclear energy and German gas- and coal-fired power stations will be an option this winter. There is talk of power shortages. Blackouts cannot be ruled out. In the fall session, politicians reacted by campaigning for the rapid expansion of renewable energy sources. While this will not be enough to plug the winter shortfall, the current threat is shaking up the political landscape. Things are changing.
The EU's agriculture ministers are also very active at the moment. They are arguing against unrealistic strategies in agricultural policy. The EU's agriculture ministers are particularly warning against threats to supply security. The war in Ukraine and climate change are placing supplies of agricultural goods under immense pressure. There is a risk of shortages and we are seeing rising prices. We have already reported on this extensively. The consequences of the outbreak of war in Ukraine, which is the breadbasket of Europe and the main producer of sunflower oil, wheat, and maize, are threatening food security. The German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) is warning that, in this crisis, we should not only be looking at energy prices but also at the supply chains for raw materials and food. According to DIW President Marcel Fratzscher: “We have to (...) adjust to the fact that food prices could rise again.”
Supply security is not only jeopardized by the “energy strategy”, but also by the “agricultural strategy.” The majority of EU agriculture ministers are concerned that the plan to cut the use of pesticides by half could be a further threat to food security. Poland is therefore appealing to the EU Agriculture Council for the EU Commission to submit a new impact assessment before the consultations on reducing the use of pesticides continue any further. The OECD is also highlighting the importance of having a productive agriculture. If we are to meet the objective of “zero hunger” by 2030, we need to increase agricultural productivity by 28%. The figures clearly show that productivity is the key to eliminating hunger. When the Head of the Marketing Department at Migros says “To beat hunger we need a fairer distribution of food,” this is sadly incorrect, or simply marketing.
As with the issue of energy supply, the current challenges call for a realistic agricultural policy. It is encouraging to see that the EU Commission's statistics show a constant decrease in the risks from pesticides over the last ten years. This shows that it is possible to have a productive agriculture with increased safety. What is not possible, however, is agriculture that does not protect crops but at the same time guarantees supply security and food safety. Unrealistic “strategies” are also leading to shortages in agriculture.
Switzerland needs to take this to heart, as farmers are running out of pesticides, and new and improved products are no longer reaching the market. The Federal Government in Switzerland is currently blocking the approval pipeline for new innovative products with both feet. Recent reforms have given the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office (FSVO) even greater weight in the approval process. They are hardly letting any products through anymore. And the granting of the right of appeal for associations by the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland in the procedure for the review of active substances has only served to exacerbate the situation. The right of appeal for associations is now to be enshrined in the AP22+ Swiss Agricultural Policy and extended to new approvals. This will take the protection of the environment to absurd extremes—with familiar results. It does not benefit the environment if crops are spoiling in the fields. Many people have not yet grasped the fact that the issue of food waste is not just limited to our fridge at home.
Swiss Agriculture Minister Guy Parmelin recently reported in parliament the extent to which the number of available pesticides has fallen in recent years: In 2019 and 2020, 34 active substances and 137 products were removed from the market but only three new substances and 50 new products were approved. Last year only three new active substances were added to these. Almost 500 permit applications are pending. The rule of thumb is that there should be three different mechanisms of action for each pest/disease/crop to ensure that good resistance management is possible. David Brugger, Head of Crop Cultivation at the Swiss Farmers’ Union (SBV), stated to the “Nebelspalter” magazine that Switzerland is even more rigid than the EU Member States: “The overall result of this is, that industrial companies are registering fewer and fewer active substances in Europe and are focusing instead on the markets in Asia and in North and South America.”
There is no shortage of concrete examples: An active substance against codling moths has been waiting a long time for approval. The products available to protect against codling moths have been heavily reduced in recent years and we cannot rule out the possibility of resistance being developed in the future. An insecticide against wireworms is also awaiting approval. There are currently no longer any approved products to combat this threat. But nobody wants to buy potato chips with visible wireworm holes. Because these pests cause the biggest visible damage in potatoes. Downy mildew is a major problem in the cultivation of onions. Fungal infections reduce shelf life, and reduced shelf life leads to food waste. However, one fungicide which could eliminate downy mildew in onions has been frozen for a long time. This innovative product would be generally regarded as safe for the environment, exactly the same as a bacteria based biological control preparation that acts as an antagonist to powdery mildew, which is much-feared in viticulture. Switzerland is the last country in Europe to grant an approval for this product.
In the EU, the realization is gradually taking hold in agricultural policy that energy supply is not the only area where unrealistic concepts are jeopardizing supply security. However, we have clearly not yet reached this point in Swiss agricultural policy, since agricultural production is falling by up to 47% according to an Agroscope survey following the implementation of the counter proposal to the rejected plant protection initiatives. This also affects products that we all want to enjoy fresh from within Switzerland. That is because fruit and vegetables are particularly reliant on plant protection. Even potatoes are very difficult to protect without pesticides.
To allow the expansion of electricity production from renewable sources to move ahead, the Swiss parliament has restricted the right of appeal for associations in a “battering-ram” strategy. As the saying goes, “to govern is to predict”: If Switzerland does not want to wind up using battering-ram strategies in agricultural policy one day as well, there is a need for a rethink. In order to ensure supply security, we need pro-innovation, fact-based assessment of new breeding technologies, but also of plant protection. It is dishonest and unrealistic if we plan to simply get by with emergency approvals. It is also dishonest if we push the requirements for pesticides to unrealistic levels and simply continue to increase imports. This is because among the greatest risks to domestic food security are a lack of electricity, dependence on foreign countries, and climate change, which increases volatility in agricultural production. Agroscope warned against this in 2021.
Increasing dependency on food imports also has an ethical component. Productive agriculture is necessary in order to feed the growing global population—particularly given increasing volatility as a result of climate change and armed conflicts. Improved agricultural technologies could make a significant contribution to highly sustainable agriculture. Innovations in plant breeding and plant protection undoubtedly play a part here. These should not be thwarted by the “misuse of the precautionary principle”, as molecular biologist Beat Keller puts it in the “NZZ.” The precautionary principle has become the prevention principle. But anyone who chooses to prevent innovations in plant breeding and plant protection has to accept blackouts in agricultural supply.
The swiss-food editorial team
