Editing Economy of Switzerland (section)

===Agriculture===
{{main|Agriculture in Switzerland}}
[[File:Swiss landscape with cows.JPG|thumb|250px|Swiss free-range cattle]]
[[File:Emmentaler.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Emmentaler]] cheese. While some Swiss types are [[Appellation d'origine protégée (Switzerland)|AOP]] restricted, generic Emmentaler is produced around the world.]]

Switzerland is highly protective of its agricultural industry. High tariffs and extensive domestic subsidisations encourage domestic production, which currently produces about 60% of the food consumed in the country. [[Swiss cheeses and dairy products|Cheeses and dairy]] are emblematic products of Swiss agriculture. [[Swiss wine|Wine is another]].

According to the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] (OECD), Switzerland is subsidising more than 70% of its agriculture compared to 35% in the EU. The ''2007 Agricultural Program'' increased subsidies by CHF 63 million to CHF 14.092 billion.

Protectionism acts to promote domestic production, but not to reduce prices or the cost of production, and there is no guarantee the increased domestic production is actually consumed internally; it may simply be exported, to the profit of the producers. 90 to 100% of potatoes, vegetables, pork, veal, cattle and most milk products are produced in the country. Beyond that, Swiss agriculture meets 65% of the domestic food demand.<ref name=urs>[http://www.organic-europe.net/country_reports/pdf/2000/switzerland.pdf Organic Farming in Switzerland] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326211404/http://www.organic-europe.net/country_reports/pdf/2000/switzerland.pdf |date=2009-03-26 }} By Urs Niggli.</ref> In 2016 the Swiss government spent about 5.5% of its total budget (over CHF 3.5 billion) on supporting food production.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/en/home/statistics/agriculture-forestry/food.html |title=Food and Agriculture - Pocket Statistics 2017 |date=2017 |website=Federal Statistical Office}}</ref>

The first reform in agricultural policies was in 1993. Among other changes, since 1998 Switzerland has linked the attribution of farm subsidies with the strict observance of good environmental practice. Before farmers can apply for subsidies, they must obtain certificates of environmental management systems (EMS) proving that they: "make a balanced use of fertilizers; use at least 7% of their farmland as ecological compensation areas; regularly rotate crops; adopt appropriate measures to protect animals and soil; make limited and targeted use of pesticides."<ref name = bsf>{{cite web|url=http://www.bfs.admin.ch/bfs/portal/en/index/themen/02/22/publ.Document.77351.pdf |title=SWISS ENVIRONMENTAL STATISTICS : 2006 |website=Bfs.admin.ch |access-date=2016-03-31}}</ref> 1,500 farms are driven out of business each year. But the number of organic farms increased by 3.3 percent between 2003 and 2004, and organic sales increased by 7 percent to $979 million.<ref name=ustrswitzerland>{{cite web |url=http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2005/2005_NTE_Report/asset_upload_file119_7500.pdf |title=MAX - Unsupported Browser Warning |website=Ustr.gov |access-date=2016-03-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090506051604/http://www.ustr.gov/assets/Document_Library/Reports_Publications/2005/2005_NTE_Report/asset_upload_file119_7500.pdf |archive-date=2009-05-06 }}</ref> Moreover, Swiss consumers consider less important the drawback of higher prices for organic food compared to conventional locally produced food.<ref name = urs/>