Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

Direct payments to Swiss farmers reduced pesticide use

Farmers produce in a more environmentally friendly way, according to new agricultural report
Farmers produce in a more environmentally friendly way, according to new agricultural report Keystone-SDA

Farmers in Switzerland are making progress in reducing their impact on the environment, according to the latest agricultural report.

The Federal Office for Agriculture (FOAG) wrote on Thursday that the direct payment programmes introduced for this purpose at the beginning of 2023 are being actively used. Farmers are more keen to grow crops without pesticides, improve the fertility of their soil or let their livestock graze on pastures more often.

+Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox

In 2023, farmers refrained from using herbicides on 19% of all arable land, vineyards and orchards. In addition, around 14,000 farms on 102,000 hectares of cultivated land did not use fungicides or insecticides. This is encouraging, writes the FOAG in its Agricultural Report 2024.

More

Conversely, it is more difficult to protect crops without certain plant protection products. A look back over the last 30 years or so shows that agriculture is having less of an impact on the environment. However, there is still a need for action when it comes to nitrogen and greenhouse gases.

Adapted from German by DeepL/ac

This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.

If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, if you want to learn more about how we use technology, click here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.

Popular Stories

Most Discussed

News

Swiss adults above average in basic skills

More

Swiss adults above average in basic skills

This content was published on In an international comparison, Swiss adults perform above average in the basic skills of reading, everyday math and problem solving.

Read more: Swiss adults above average in basic skills
Parliament clears the bill for a new start with E-ID

More

Swiss parliament clears way for new start with e-ID

This content was published on A new attempt to introduce electronic proof of identity has been made in Switzerland. The Senate has resolved the final differences in the legal provisions on a state e-ID.

Read more: Swiss parliament clears way for new start with e-ID
Rare Roman coin sold for 1.89 million francs at auction

More

Rare Roman coin auctioned for almost CHF2 million in Geneva

This content was published on A rare Roman coin with a portrait of Brutus, the assassin of Julius Caesar, was sold at a Geneva auction on Monday for CHF1.89 million ($2.15 million), according to the organiser of the sale.

Read more: Rare Roman coin auctioned for almost CHF2 million in Geneva
Council of States says yes to the federal budget without a dissenting vote

More

Swiss Senate approves federal budget without opposition

This content was published on The Swiss army will receive an additional CHF530 million in 2025, and no cuts will be made to direct payments for agriculture. What is unclear is how much will be saved on foreign aid.

Read more: Swiss Senate approves federal budget without opposition
SEM suspends asylum procedure for asylum seekers from Syria

More

Swiss suspend decisions on asylum-seekers from Syria

This content was published on Asylum procedures and decisions for asylum-seekers from Syria will be suspended with immediate effect until the situation can be reassessed, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) said.

Read more: Swiss suspend decisions on asylum-seekers from Syria

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR