Are EU inspectors headed for Swiss farms? 

Family-run production of “Niederbauer” cheese near Emmetten in the central Swiss canton of Nidwalden. Keystone / Gaetan Bally

A new food agreement with the EU opens up export opportunities for Swiss farmers – but it also sets some alarm bells ringing in the agricultural sector.

Anyone who wants to scare Swiss farmers has an easy time of it. All they need do is announce that even more inspections are afoot. 

The sheer volume of on-site checks undergone by ordinary Swiss farms has long been perceived as disruptive. To show that the government is aware of this, Economics Minister Guy Parmelin – who is also responsible for agriculture – visited a farm in canton Bern’s Seeland region last year. He announced clearly: “we want to lighten the burden of inspections on farmers.”  

Since then, a “roundtable” – the government’s cure-all for complex challenges – has been meeting in Bern. The aim: to stem the flood of inspectionsExternal link on farms.

One farm, many inspectors 

A winegrower himself, Parmelin has credibility in the agricultural sector. But the inspection system has long since taken on a life of its own, and even the minister seems powerless to hold it in check.  

Guy Parmelin visits a potato field in canton Bern in August 2024. Keystone / Alessandro Della Valle

As things stand, a whole bevy of inspection bodies goes from farm to farm at varying intervals to check that things are being done as they should. The federal government is just one part of the system. It needs to ensure that its subsidies to farms are justified. And a whole catalogueExternal link of these exists; the summary alone is 30 pages long.  

On top of this, a host of labelExternal link and branch organisations need to monitor that the farms affiliated to them meet relevant standards. Then there are bulk buyers, who have their own requirements, for instance regarding animal welfare – and their own range of labels. 

EU inspectors on Swiss farms? 

Will the European Union (EU) soon also be getting involved? This is the threat now seen to be looming – at least according to a report in early July by the NebelspalterExternal link magazine. “As part of the new food deal, Switzerland is adopting an EU directive that allows Brussels to conduct inspections on all Swiss farms and processors,” the satirical publication wrote.

It also added that “the agreement details locations such as stables, cheese dairies, slaughterhouses, greenhouses and butcher’s shops to which EU inspectors are to be granted access.” 

This narrative has now come to dominate the debate around the food agreementExternal link. Before this, the text had seemed more like a technical exerciseExternal link, overshadowed by the other deals negotiated with the EU on the big issues of immigration, energy, the economy and democracy.  

But now the image is here – of Brussels bureaucrats coming to count flies in Swiss cowsheds and cheese cellars. And, like a good cartoon, it is far too catchy to disappear. 

A market that brings in billions 

This raises a dilemma for Swiss farmers, since until now the benefits of the agreement were rarely called into question. The silence surrounding the matter now shows just how tense the situation is. The Swiss Farmers’ Union, the largest umbrella organisation for Swiss agriculture, will discuss the agreement package on October 22. In the meantime, it will make no comment, especially not on the food agreement. 

The agreement will clearly bring substantial benefits for agriculture. Above all, it opens up and secures access to the EU market. Some 50% of Swiss agricultural exports today go to the EU, while 74% of imports originate there. This trade is worth more than CHF16 billion ($20 billion) every year. 

‘We need this partnership’

Take Swiss cheese, for example. Around 40% is exported, mainly to the EU. “We need this partnership,” says Paul Meier, director of Formarte, the umbrella organisation of Swiss specialist cheese producers. At first glance, his organisation views the food agreement positively. “I don’t see any real concerns at the moment, not even the risk of more inspections.” 

Testing a wheel of Gruyère in Moudon, canton Vaud. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

When asked about the imminence of EU inspectors on Swiss farms, Stephan Hagenbuch, director of the Swiss Milk Producers’ Association, commented: “Control audits are possible even today. We’ve already had Russian audits and Chinese audits.” Basically, he added, “in order to maintain market access, Switzerland has to ensure the equivalence of measures in the dairy sector, in line with the existing bilateral agreements with the EU”.  

Hagenbuch also alluded to ongoing discussions on the Bilateral Agreements III within his association. As no position has yet been reached, he would not comment at this stage. 

Strong voice of rural Switzerland  

The Swiss rural population is generally sceptical of the EU, and its views weigh heavily in voting decisions which require a cantonal majority. The rural cantons have thus repeatedly put the kibosh on some of urban Switzerland’s progressive whims.  

At the moment, though, any referendum on the new EU treaties is still in in the realm of theory. Exactly what question will ever reach the ballot box, and in what form, is the subject of a political tug-of-war – and the federal government is not planning a vote that would requires a cantonal majority for this issue. However, as always, anyone who wants success must have the farmers on their side. So the key question remains: will the arrival of “foreign judges”, so feared by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, soon be compounded by “foreign inspectors”?  

The answer is no.  

Not in farmers’ everyday lives. 

The purpose of audits is to ensure that proper monitoring is being carried out. This takes place at the official level. The Swiss Federal Office for Agriculture will thus report its inspection activities to Brussels, and may have to demonstrate to the EU how it inspects Swiss agriculture.  

According to the relevant EU directive, EU controls of the Swiss inspection system could lead to visits to individual production facilities (see page 86, article 116, paragraph 3External link). But it also lays down that sovereignty over inspection remains with the respective country (see hereExternal link, section 15). 

Hope for better plant protection 

So much for the farmers’ fears. But the agreement raises hopes. The harmonisation of production standards could give Swiss farmers faster access to more effective plant protection products and better seeds.  

Hans Wyss, director of the Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office, recently told a group of fruit growers in canton Zug that “we are seeking ways to expedite the authorisation of plant protection products.” The food agreement with the EU could ease the situation in the long term, Wyss said, as reported in the Zuger Zeitung.  

The situation in the crop sector is tense, with new types of pests affecting sugar beet and cherry harvests for instance. Regulatory authorities thus regularly find themselves dealing with conflicting objectives. 

Agricultural organisations for now in favour    

Effective plant protection products usually cause collateral damage, for example by endangering bees. However, some producers view environmentally compatible products as ineffective and regularly call for emergency authorisationsExternal link. If their concerns are heard, they are then allowed to use critical pesticides for a limited period and in controlled doses.  

A tractor with a prototype of an efficient pesticide-spraying robot on a lettuce field. Keystone / Anthony Anex

“The cost-effective procurement of fertilisers and pesticides” is a major reason why the agro-food stakeholder group Agrarstandort Schweiz welcomes the food agreement. The group includes the major agricultural labels IP Suisse and Bio-Suisse, as well as large wholesalers and marketing organisations. “Modern plant protection products will become available more quickly,” the group’s managing director, Christof Dietler, says. 

Agrarstandort Schweiz is the most important organisation to have spoken out so far about the food agreement – and nearly the only one. Dietler adds: “Never again will we obtain such favourable conditions for the agricultural sector as with the Bilateral Agreements I and II. The new package safeguards this; it was very well negotiated for Swiss agriculture.” 

Legislative jungle 

Many other associations are keeping a low profile as they pore over the various legal texts. Not only is the food safety agreement very comprehensive, it also covers 61 EU legal acts that Switzerland will adopt directly and “dynamically”. Many of these are linked to further decrees and references.  

So there is a lot of undergrowth to plough through before a field even comes into sight. Almost everything – and everyone – is covered, from soil to plate. All the more reason, then, to suspect that the final decision on the deal will also be based on gut feeling. 

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Edited by Marc Leutenegger; adapted from German by Julia Bassam/ds