Farmers’ Association calls for higher prices and emergency loans
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss Farmers’ Union is calling on the business community and politicians to help agriculture cope with the drought.
A lack of rainfall has resulted in emergency slaughter due to a shortage of feed, a slump in milk production caused by animals suffering from the heat, and water shortages.
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The consistently high temperatures and the ongoing drought are causing concern for farmers. The specific consequences for the market are drastic.
As the winter fodder has already been used up, farms are increasingly reducing the size of their herds – with direct consequences for the meat market. There is also a sharp decline in milk production.
The reasons for this include not only the heat and the shortage of feed but also a “new disease that has spread from warmer climes”.
The farmers’ union is therefore appealing to the retail sector to pay higher producer prices and ro lower quality standards, for example for smaller or misshapen vegetables.
Politicians are also being called upon to act. The union wants interest-free loans from cantons and flexibility regarding repayments. This is intended to cushion the impact of liquidity shortages.
In the medium and long term, the Swiss government is asked to make sufficient funds available to support farms in implementing adaptation and mitigation measures against climate change.
Insurance solutions are also needed to cover crop failures caused by drought.
An open letter from farmers had called on the association to take action at the end of July. It has now incorporated some of these demands into its statement, whilst others have not been addressed.
One of the main demands in the letter was that the association should stop opposing environmental and climate policy proposals and instead actively advocate for measures to curb global warming.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
