%K Trade policy, relative competitiveness, Sozio-Ökonomie, Agrarpolitik, WTO
%L orgprints5746
%T Auswirkungen der Agrarhandelsliberalisierungspolitik auf den biologischen Landbau und seine relative Vorzüglichkeit gegenüber der konventionellen Landwirtschaft in der Schweiz
%I Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), CH-5070 Frick
%X Definition of the problem:
The agricultural policy conditions for the Swiss farming sector will continue to change significantly in the next decade due to the current WTO negotiations on agricultural trade liberalisation and the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union. The Doha-Round means for Switzerland that it must continue to reduce significantly in the medium–term (2005-2015) its agricultural support and protection measures. Besides the WTO negotiations the Swiss primary sector is also highly affected by the bilateral agreement with the EU that came into force in July 2001. The agricultural agreement consists of a reduction of customs duties for certain produces and the elimination of technical trade barriers. 
The liberalisation of the protected Swiss market will be a major challenge for the agricultural sector in Switzerland. As most Swiss farms produce at higher costs per output and have consequently a much lower productivity in comparison to other EU farms (Rieder, 1998), improvements in market access as well as substantial reductions in trade-distorting measures will lead to a drop in producer prices and farm incomes and will hardening the competition for farmers. For this reason, the majority of Swiss farmers are forced to change the structure of their businesses to become more competitive and to be able to survive on the market without the depending on the current level of price support. 
Until today the effects of the Doha-Round have been analysed only at a very high aggregation level using a general equilibrium model (Lips, 2002). According to this study, producer prices will drop up to 29%. In particular due to the lower milk price Swiss agricultural income will decline about 30%. However, in reality, the economic performances of individual farms vary significantly depending on the farm type and size, the farming system and the geographical location. Therefore, it is obvious that the coming trade liberalisation will not affect all producers in the same way. Further research is needed to know more about the effects of trade liberalisation on different types of farms and to provide farmers with more detailed information so that they are able to chose an optimal strategy for their farming business. 
No information is currently available about the effects of trade liberalisation on the organic sector in Switzerland and the economic performance of organic farms in comparison to integrated / conventional farms. In the past years, in view of decreased producer prices, many farmers converted their farms with the prospect to achieve a higher farm income. Several studies have confirmed that organic farms are able to achieve higher economic performance in comparison to comparable integrated / conventional farms mainly due to high premium prices for organic produces, higher direct payments for organically managed farms and lower production costs (Hartnagel and Stolze, 2002; Offermann and Nieberg, 2000; Nieberg, 2000; Hilfiker, 1998). According to these studies the farm income was on average 10 – 15% higher on organic farms.
If in the past a conversion were a suitable strategy for some farms to adjust price reductions, it seems to be justifiable to pose the question, for what farm types and under which conditions organic farming would be a possibility for Swiss farmers to meet the challenge of the coming trade liberalisation. 
Project aims:
The overall aim of this project is to analyse and compare the effects of the coming agricultural trade liberalisation (WTO Doha-Round, Bilateral Agreement) on organic farming in Switzerland and its economic performance in comparison to conventional / integrated farming systems. The scenarios shall express the likely effects of the coming liberalisation of agricultural trade on the policy conditions for Swiss farmers and will comprise changes in the farm output-level, producer prices, technical progress as well as direct payment level that will be derived from the outcomes of the ongoing WTO negotiations.
The overall aim of modelling and analysing the effect of the current WTO agriculture negotiations on organic and integrated farming may be divided into the following objectives: 

•	Review of relevant literature 
•	Generate representative farm groups
•	Calculate input-output coefficients
•	Estimate structural changes and technical progress in the ex-ante period
•	Construct an optimisation matrix
•	Analyse different policy simulations
•	Synthesise the results and write the thesis
Methodology:
 A comparative-static process-analytical programming model will be used to model and analyse the effects of different scenarios on farm production, factor allocation, supply of agricultural produces and farm income of different representative farm groups of the Swiss agricultural sectors. A similar model was developed by Jacobs (1998) and Schleef (1999) and can be used for this project.  The model was also described by Offermann (2001). However, it needs to be adapted to the Swiss situation and be further developed according to the specific research question.

%I Eugen Ulmer Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart
%X Die europäische Politik zum ökologischen Landbau muss in einem europaweiten Aktionsplan besser aufeinander abgestimmt und weiter entwickelt werden. Zu diesem Schluss kommt eine soeben erschienene Studie von Wissenschaftlern der Universitäten Hohenheim und Ancona mit dem Titel „Politik für den Öko-Landbau“. Das Buch gibt in leicht verständlicher Form einen Überblick über den Status quo des Öko-Landbaus in Europa und diskutiert dessen wichtigste Aspekte im Verhältnis zur Agrarpolitik. Der Beitrag, den der Öko-Landbau zu Zielen der Politik leisten kann, wird ebenso diskutiert wie die Position des Öko-Landbaus im Spannungsfeld zwischen Agrarpolitik, WTO-Verhandlungen und Osterweiterung der EU. Mit Blick auf die Zukunft werden unterschiedliche Entwicklungsszenarien des Öko-Landbaus in Europa dargestellt. Abschließend werden Empfehlungen für eine sinnvolle Gestaltung der Politik für den Öko-Landbau ausgesprochen. In einem Geleitwort bescheinigt Frau Bundesministerin Renate Künast dem Buch eine „ausgewogene Dokumentation der Fakten und Meinungen“ und betont, dass insbesondere der europäische Blickwinkel des Buches interessante Ansätze für die Verbraucher und Agrarpolitik eröffnet. 
aus: Dabbert, S. und Häring, A.M. und Zanoli, R. (2002): Politik für den Öko-Landbau. Eugen Ulmer Verlag GmbH.

 
%D 2002
%K Agrarpolitik, EU, Politik, Europa, WTO, Osterweiterung, Zukunft, Entwicklung
%A S. Dabbert
%A A.M. Häring
%A R. Zanoli
%L orgprints2313
%T Politik für den Öko-Landbau

%P 62
%K WTO, Agrarpolitik, agricultural policy
%D 2004
%X Since the early 1990, organic farming has experienced a rapid growth in Europe due to increased consumer awareness towards organic products and various policy support measures. In particular, organic farming schemes based on the agri-environmental regulation (2078/92) and the rural development regulation (1257/1999) offer financial compensation for a lower income and support for marketing and processing activities (Lampkin et al., 1999).

Organic farming policies as part of the general CAP are increasingly affected by the liberalisation of agricultural markets. Trade liberalisation takes place at three different areas: first, free-trade zones are established or extended (such as the EC); second, bilateral agreements facilitate trade between countries; and third, at global level, a further reduction of trade barriers are achieved through the WO talks. As a result of the liberalisation policies, competition on the supply side increases, producer prices drop down and state impact on markets are reduced. Regarding organic farming policies, liberalisation will lead to a greater harmonisation of support measures as well as production and processing standards. In the light of the ongoing WTO talks, it is expected that agri-environmental programmes will become stronger related to desired positive effects and less trade-distortive.

Due to the increased economic pressure in the organic farming sector, it will be crucial for many farmers to maximise their income through environmental services, marketing activities and improved quality.

%J Proceedings
%T The future policy environment of organic farming and ist impact on the economic performance against the background of the ongoing trade liberalisation
%L orgprints3251
%A Jürn Sanders
%E Sarapatka

%P 30-33
%D 2004
%K Sozioökonomie, Agrarpolitik, WTO, Agrarhandelsliberalisierung
%I Stiftung Ökologie & Landbau
%X Der Abbau von Handelshemmnissen hat einen bedeutenden Einfluss auf die agrarpolitischen Rahmenbedingen, denen der Bio-Landbau ausgesetzt ist. Es ist absehbar, dass die zukünftigen Rahmenbedingungen zu einem intensiveren Wettbewerb im Bio-Sektor führen werden und es folglich mehr an den Konsumenten und Konsumentinnen liegt, ob sie durch den Kauf regionaler bzw. europäischer Bio-Produkte den Bio-Landbau in der EU unterstützen. Für die Wirtschaftlichkeit des Bio-Landbaus in Europa ist es besonders wichtig, dass das Budgetvolumen der Green-Box-Maßnahmen nicht beschränkt oder reduziert wird. Sollte sich die Höhe der Direktzahlungen verstärkt nach der erbrachten Umweltleistung richten, würden Bio-Betriebe von dieser Änderung besonders profitieren.
%J Ökologie & Landbau
%N 129
%T Risiken und Chancen für Europas Bio-Landbau
%L orgprints2581
%A Jürn Sanders

%K agricultural liberalisation, price premiums, relative profitability, agricultural  WTO, relative profitability, Agrarpolitik
%D 2008
%P 238-241
%L orgprints12546
%T Impact of agricultural liberalisation on the relative importance of price premiums for the profitability of organic farming 
%A Jürn Sanders
%A Matthias Stolze
%A Nicolas Lampkin
%J Cultivating the Future Based on Science
%I International Society of Organic Agriculture Research and Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL, CH-Frick
%V 2
%X In the literature, impressive evidences can be found with respect to the importance of price premiums for the absolute and relative profitability of organic farms. However, depending on the agricultural support framework, the relative economic importance of price premiums varies considerably. Model results presented in this paper suggest that the relative importance is likely to decline, if producer prices decline substantially and more support payments are transferred directly to farmers as envisaged in the framework of currently discussed liberalisation reforms in Switzerland or the EU.

%K agricultural liberalisation, economic impact, WTO, relative profitability, Agrarpolitik, Nachhaltigkeitsanalyse
%D 2007
%L orgprints13212
%T Economic Impact of Agricultural Liberalisation Policies on Organic Farming in Switzerland
%A Jürn Sanders
%X The poor international competitiveness of Swiss agriculture and the high level of border protection in place have given rise to an ongoing public debate in Switzerland about whether agricultural markets should be comprehensively liberalised. More specifically, three different partial revisions of Swiss legislation on agriculture are currently under discussion (AP 2011 reform, WTO liberalisation agreement, EU agricultural free trade agreement), all of which aim to improve the competitiveness of the agri-food industry. Against this background, the overall aim of this thesis is to analyse the potential impact of these policies on land use, livestock husbandry and the financial performance of organic and non-organic farms. An additional aim of the thesis is to explore the implications of agricultural liberalisation for the relative profitability of organic farming. The research makes use of the sector-consistent farm group model CH-FARMIS, which enables an assessment of the impact of policy measures on different farm types, regions and organic and non-organic farming.

According to the model results, land use and the number of farm animals change in line with projected commodity prices. Due to considerable cost disadvantages, agricultural liberalisation affects arable and pig production in particular. At the same time the amount of grassland as a proportion of total farmland is expected to increase. Furthermore, the model results suggest that organic farms would respond to liberalisation policies in a similar way to non-organic farms. However, changes in land use and livestock husbandry are expected to be somewhat more pronounced on non-organic farms than on organic farms. 

Due to falling commodity prices, it is expected that revenues from agricultural production will decrease and cause a significant reduction in agricultural incomes. It is anticipated that organic and non-organic farms are only partially able to compensate for lower commodity prices by lower production costs, higher direct payments or changes in farm management. In line with anticipated producer prices, the highest income losses are expected for farms located in the valley region with large arable or pig production. The lowest income losses are expected for grassland farms in the mountain region. In addition, the results of this research indicate that, on average, organic farms are less severely affected by liberalisation policies than non-organic farms. Accordingly, the relative profitability of organic farms is likely to improve with increased liberalisation.

Differences in prices, yields, production costs, direct payments and non-agricultural outputs are identified as the main determinants of the relative profitability of organic farms. Since revenues from agricultural production are expected to fall, price premiums and lower yields become somewhat less important for the relative economic success of organic farms. The opposite is true for direct payments and revenues from on-farm non-agricultural activities. An increase in direct payment rates, however, does not improve per se the relative profitability of organic farms. A positive impact can be expected especially if contributions for (extensive) grassland and animal welfare are increased, while an increase in arable area or dairy cow payments would be more beneficial for non-organic farms.
In view of the prospect that organic farms are likely to be less severely affected financially by liberalisation policies, it can be assumed that the number of organic farms will increase. Furthermore, the results of this thesis suggest that the number of organic / non-organic part-time farms as a proportion of total organic / non-organic agricultural holdings in Switzerland will also rise.

%I Aberystwyth University, Institute of Rural Sciences