Consensus and Dissension with Respect to Agricultural Policy Goals
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A study conducted by Agroscope and ETH Zurich surveyed the opinions of both farmers and the rest of the population with respect to agricultural policy goals, revealing both shared and divergent views.
Agricultural policy is under pressure: despite high government funding, agri-environmental goals remain unmet in many spheres. At the same time, farmers bemoan their income and complain of excessive bureaucracy. This polarisation stymies reforms. The study analyses the views of 820 farmers and 848 non-farmers on agricultural policy and investigates the degree of consensus between both groups.
Two surveys highlight differences in agricultural policy preferences
Two questionnaires posing identical questions to farmers (2023) and non-farmers (2022) from the German- and French-speaking areas of Switzerland were evaluated. Question: “Imagine that you handled Switzerland’s agricultural budget. Please indicate how important the following aspects should be in allocating the agricultural budget (or the subsidies), with 1 = not at all important up to 7 = very important.”
The results show that both farmers and non-farmers find ensuring agricultural income and domestic food production to be of similar importance (Graphic 1). There are also differences, however. Producers rate agri-environmental goals as significantly less important than non-farmers do. The latter, for their part, consider lowering food prices to be important, whilst the majority of farmers do not.
Consensus is lower among farmers
Among non-farmers, there is a higher consensus on the importance of all agricultural policy goals. Among farmers the consensus is significantly lower, especially for the agri-environmental goals (Graphic 2). The strongest differences of opinion can be seen among producers regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The greatest consensus between both groups concerns the importance of an adequate agricultural income and of domestic food production.
Implications for agricultural policy
The analysis highlights key fields of action for agricultural policy. Firstly, broad support for various agricultural policy goals legitimises policy interventions that support the multifunctional goals of agriculture. Secondly, the farmers’ differing ratings of the agri-environmental goals and their simultaneous consensus on the priority of income and food production suggest that a more ecological approach to food production will only be implemented when it is not associated with income losses. Thirdly, a balanced approach to reform that takes equal account of environmental targets, agricultural income and food prices is required. This would improve consensus within the population and militate against polarisation.
Conclusions
- Farmers and non-farmers are in agreement on the legitimacy of the diverse agricultural policy goals.
- Both groups agree that domestic food production and agricultural income are among the most important agricultural policy goals.
- Farmers attach more importance to adequate agricultural income, non-farmers to lower food prices and to reducing environmental impacts.
- Opinions among farmers diverge significantly with regard to agri-environmental goals, especially as regards greenhouse gas reduction.
- Future agricultural reforms must balance targets relating to the environment, agricultural income and food prices.
Bibliographical reference
Aligning agricultural policy: discrepancies between public and farmer priorities.
