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Factors in the decision by Swiss farmers to convert to organic farming

Home, Robert; Indermuehle, Annina; Tschanz, Anna; Ries, Elke and Stolze, Matthias (2018) Factors in the decision by Swiss farmers to convert to organic farming. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, online, pp. 1-11.

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Document available online at: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/renewable-agriculture-and-food-systems/article/factors-in-the-decision-by-swiss-farmers-to-convert-to-organic-farming/0876220956098519EA25DCBB7CC9802E


Summary

Demonstrated economic benefits of conversion to organic agriculture, combined with solutions to technical and production-related problems, suggest that farmers in Switzerland should have converted in large numbers to organic production. However, the number of organic farms in Switzerland has remained virtually constant in the last 10 yr, so it appears there are other factors that influence the decision of whether or not to convert. Several studies have sought to identify the factors that influence the decisions by farmers whether or not to convert to organic, but have found a range of factors that appear to be context dependent, while others can be seen as context transcendent, which makes it difficult to draw generalizable conclusions. The aim of this study was to identify how Swiss farmers’ decisions reflect the interaction of perceptions, relationships, policies and economic factors, which either enable or provide barriers to conversion. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2015 with 39 farmers of mixed and arable farms in the German- (n = 24) and French-speaking (n = 15) parts of Switzerland. The interviews were recorded, transcribed and analyzed according to their content. The results show that the decision of whether or not to convert relies on belief that technical problems have been sufficiently solved, as well as a range of social factors. Farmers perceive social pressure for them to be productive, but non-organic farmers often incorrectly perceive organic farming as not being oriented toward production. Furthermore, ‘official’ advice, which could correct this misperception, is sought about how, rather than whether, to convert and typically comes after farmers have made their decision. Major barriers in an area with a low density of organic farms are the lack of supply and delivery points within an acceptable travel distance, and lack of peer networks to provide informal support. On the basis of these findings, we propose that strategies to encourage conversion should be based around two main pillars: investment to create a network of supply and delivery points in areas with low density of organic farms; and actions, such as information events, to encourage dialogue between conventional and organic farmers to counteract feelings of ‘us vs them’.


EPrint Type:Journal paper
Keywords:Barriers, conversion to organic, decisionmaking, motivations, social factors, Switzerland
Agrovoc keywords:
Language
Value
URI
English
farming -> farming systems
http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2807
Subjects:"Organics" in general
Farming Systems
Food systems > Policy environments and social economy
Research affiliation: Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Knowledge exchange > Advice
Switzerland > FiBL - Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Switzerland > Society > Rural sociology
Germany > University of Gießen
ISSN:1742-1705
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1017/ S1742170518000121
Deposited By: Home, Dr Robert
ID Code:34734
Deposited On:27 Feb 2019 13:24
Last Modified:27 Oct 2021 13:43
Document Language:English
Status:Published
Refereed:Peer-reviewed and accepted

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