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Organic Farming Research - Switzerland

by Thomas Alföldi, FiBL

Introduction

Switzerland is one of the pioneering countries of organic farming. Today it has one of the highest proportions of organic agricultural land in the world (eleven percent).

It also has a long history of organic farming research, which in the beginning was carried out by organic farming pioneers and private institutions such as the Goetheanum, Möschberg Centre and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, founded in 1973. The first IFOAM scientific conference on organic agriculture was organised by FiBL in 1977 in Sissach, in the northwestern part of the country. In the 1990s Agroscope, the Swiss federal agricultural research stations became involved in organic research topics. Today, the government funds research on organic farming both at FiBL and the state institutes.

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History

The following lists the milestones of organic farming research history:

  • 1924: First biodynamic research activities at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland
  • 1950s: Activities of Hans Müller, his wife Maria Müller and Hans Peter Rusch the pioneers of organic-biological farming, at the Möschberg Centre for organic farming
  • 1973: Private Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL founded
  • 1977: First scientific conference of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM held in Sissach
  • 1978: Start of the DOK long-term experiment at FiBL in co-operation with Swiss agricultural research station Agroscope. DOK stands for (bio) dynamic – organic – conventional; i.e. the trial compares biodynamic (D) with organic (O) and conventional (K) variants.
  • 1984: Start of official experiments of Agroscope FAL on organic farms
  • 1985: First financial contribution to FiBL by the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture FOAG
  • 1988: First lectures on organic farming at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ETHZ
  • 1989: Increased funding of FiBL by the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture FOAG
  • 1990: First standards for organic milk processing and food packaging in co-operation with Swiss agricultural research stations
  • 1994: First 4-year mandate to FiBL (the so-called 'Leistungsauftrag') by FOAG
  • 1995: Start of Research Coordination Group between Agroscope and FiBL
  • 1998: Second 4-year mandate to FiBL by FOAG
  • 2000: The 13th Scientific Conference of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) takes place in Base
  • l2000: Agroscope centres comprising 5 federal agricultural research stations become increasingly involved in organic research projects
  • 2001: Peer review: Evaluation of research and technical development of organic farming in Switzerland
  • 2002: Scientific paper on soil fertility and organic farming based on the results of the DOK experiment published by authors from FiBL and Agroscope 
  • 2002: Third 4-year mandate to FiBL by FOAG
  • 2003: Restructuring of organic research co-ordination group, new mandate for FiBL
  • 2004: First national conference of the research coordination group FiBL - Agroscope, now taking place annually.
  • 2009: Scientific conference of the German speaking countries ‘Wissenschaftstagung’, organised by Agroscope, FiBL and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology ETHZ, Department of Agriculture, held in Switzerland for the first time. 

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Institutions

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Documents

  • Alföldi, T. et al. (2006) Country Report on Organic Farming Research in Switzerland In: Lange, Stefan; Williges, Ute; Saxena, Shilpi and Willer, Helga (Hrsg.) European Research Organic Food and Farming. Reports on organisation and conduction of research programmes in 11 European countries, Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernärung (BLE) / Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food BLE, Bonn, Germany, s. 249-266.
  • Mäder, Paul et al.: (2002) Soil Fertility and Biodiversity in Organic Farming. Science, 31 May 2002 (296), S. 1694-1697.

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Key institutions

The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL is a private trust and has been active in organic farming research and dissemination since 1973.

The three federal research stations Agroscope have become increasingly involved in organic research projects since the year 2000: Agroscope Reckenholz Tänikon ART, Agroscope Changins Wädenswil ACW and Agroscope Liebefeld-Posieux ALP. These federal research stations are carrying out applied research into sustainable and multifunctional agriculture.

Agroscope Reckenholz Tänikon ART carries out  several research projects specifically dedicated to organic food and farming.

The Organic Research Coordination Group coordinates the activities of Agroscope and FiBL. Since 2004 an annual conference is documenting the current status of organic farming research at these institutes.

In addition, there are two private research institutes focusing at biodynamic research: the Agriculture Section of the Goetheanum and the Cereal Breeding Group of Peter Kunz.

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Funding for organic farming research

Approximately 7.5 million Euros per annum are allocated specifically to organic farming research from public budgets. The major part of the state funding for organic farming research is granted by the Federal Office of Agriculture FOAG.
The key funding institutions are:

  • Federal Office for Agriculture FOAG: 7 million Euros via permanent staff of the Agroscope Centers and grant to FiBL ('Leistungsauftrag');
  • State Secretariat for Education and Research SER: Until recently the funding for Swiss partners in projects of the European Research Framework programmes came directly from Switzerland (SER). Now these funds are distributed via the European Commission in Brussels;
  • Cantonal governments in agricultural schools and in extension services incl. Swiss College of Agriculture in Zollikofen: 1 million Euros (estimate). Teaching and extension in organic farming are general cantonal duties.

Furthermore the organic industry (sector organisations, retailers, foundations) is funding organic farming research in the country.

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Research programmes

The national research programme is organised according to a four-year research concept of the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture FOAG. Within this concept, organic farming is considered as an important issue of Swiss agricultural research, and research for organic farming is carried out as a continuous process.

The Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL is doing research exclusively for organic farming, whereas at Agroscope, research for integrated and organic farming is carried out in parallel.

Together with the activities of FiBL, all relevant agricultural topics such as plant production, animal health and husbandry, food quality and socioeconomics are covered and carried out in the context of organic farming.

Research is organised as a mandate to FiBL (the so-called “Leistungsauftrag” by the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture FOAG) and as a priority setting within the three federal Agroscope centres.

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Key research themes & project lists

The DOK long-term trial in Therwil near Basel was started in 1978 and is a joint project of FiBL and Agroscope

Organic farming research is carried out on all relevant themes:

  • FiBL covers soil management and plant nutrition, horticultural crop research, organic seed production, organic plant protection and biodiversity, livestock health, livestock breeding and ethology, socio-economics including policy, regulation and markets, as well as food quality. In addition, FiBL has recently been involved in numerous activities related to organic farming research: It helped to set up the Technology Platform TP Organics and the Organic Research Alliance ORCA.
  • Agroscope ART Reckenholz Tänikon covers soil management and plant nutrition, grassland and arable crop research, breeding of fodder crops, biodiversity, plant protection and landscape.
  • Agroscope ACW Changins covers grassland and arable crop research, breeding of arable crops and vines, variety testing and horticultural crops, especially aromatic plants.
  • Agroscope ALP covers milk and meat quality/technology/processing
  • Agroscope ACW Wädenswil covers fruit and vegetable production, viniculture, crop protection, breeding/variety testing, quality and processing research.
  • Agroscope ART Tänikon covers farm management, farm technology and animal husbandry.

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Priority setting and involvement of end users

Neither the research mandate for FiBL nor the priority setting of the Agroscope centres is organised as an open call process for funding. Research priorities are set for a four-year period within each research station of Agroscope and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) according to the specific research areas of each institution. Priority setting and the development of the research project portfolio is performed in a four year cycle as an open call process where, besides the researchers, farmers (represented by the Swiss umbrella organisation Bio Suisse), advisory services and consumers can also contribute.

For specific extension projects, Agroscope Wädenswil (ACW) operates an annual open call process involving all stakeholders.

Overall coordination of the projects in organic research is carried out by the Research Coordination Group Agroscope - FiBL which meets at regular intervals.

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Dissemination: Training and advice

In Switzerland all cantons offer an introductory course for farmers converting to organic agriculture and technical advice for farmers. In addition to these courses official advisory services, the private Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), education and training centers, the federal Agroscope centres, and the different regional organic farmers' associations offer various courses and hold meetings.

Modules on organic farming for apprentices are offered by many agricultural schools.

Furthermore, FiBL and a group of teachers and trainers have developed a curriculum on becoming an "organic farmer" and in 2004 an organic school was set up. For bio-dynamic farmers there is a four-year apprenticeship programme.

The Technical University of Zurich offers a specialised agro-ecology programme for agronomists with specific organic farming courses. Similar programmes are offered by the Swiss College of Agriculture at Zollikofen and the University of Applied Sciences at Wädenswil (see also section on 'Scientific education').

  • bioaktuell: Specialised magazine for Swiss organic farmers. Released 10 times / year in three languages (D, F, I). Published by FiBL and Bio Suisse;
  • Technical leaflets provided by FiBL, Bio Suisse, Agricultural Advisory Service for the German and French speaking parts of Switzerland; Agroscope centres, organic marketing associations, private companies and consultancy firms;
  • bioaktuell.ch: Internet platform for Swiss organic farmers;
  • Training at FiBL and at the agricultural education and training centres;
  • Advice by phone provided by FiBL, Bio Suisse, Bio.Inspecta AG (www.bio-inspecta.ch), Bio Test Agro (www.bio-test-agro.ch), agricultural education and training centres, Agricultural Advisory Service for the German and French speaking parts of Switzerland, Agroscope centres;
  • Mailing provided by Bio Suisse, member organisations of Bio Suisse, Agroscope centres, organic marketing associations, private companies and consultancy firms;
  • Group advice is provided by FiBL, Bio Inspecta, Bio Test Agro, agricultural education and training centres, organic marketing associations, private companies and consultancy firms;
  • Individual farm advice provided by FiBL, Bio Suisse, Bio Inspecta, Bio Test Agro, agricultural education and training centres, organic marketing associations, private companies and consultancy firms;
  • Articles in specialised farmers’ magazines and public newspapers

In 1995, the research coordination group of Agroscope and FiBL started its work. In 2004, the first national conference of this research coordination group was held.

In 2009, both institutions, together with the Swiss Federal Institute of Agriculture ETHZ organised the 10th scientific conference on organic agriculture, the Wissenschaftstagung. This conference is held every two years, each time organised by a different institution involved in organic farming research activities.

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Platforms and coordination

Cover of the proceedings of the 10th Scientific Conference on organic farming, which took place in Zürich, Switzerland, in 2009

In 1995, the Research Coordination Group between Agroscope and FiBL started its work. In 2004, the first national conference of this research coordination group took place.

In 2009, both institutions, together with the Swiss Federal Institute of Agriculture ETHZ organised the 10th scientific conference on organic agriculture, the Wissenschaftstagung. This conference takes place every two years, every time organised by a different institution with organic farming research activities. 

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Scientific education

The following universities and universities of applied sciences are teaching institutions active in organic agriculture: 

  • Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich ETHZ: Introduction to organic farming; Case studies organic and integrated farming; Comparing low-input and organic farming systems; Marketing; Vegetable production systems (including aspects of organic production); Fruit production systems (including aspects of organic production)
  • University of Applied Sciences FH Zollikofen: Introduction to organic farming
  • University of Applied Sciences FH Wädenswil: Various courses (including aspects of organic production)

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Literature

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