A proposal to reshape Swiss agriculture and lift domestic food production to at least 70 per cent is heading for a decisive defeat, with more than seven voters in ten rejecting it in Sunday’s intermediate count.
The federal results service recorded about 73 per cent voting no while counting continued. The margin left the popular initiative without a realistic path to the double majority required for a constitutional amendment: most votes nationwide and a majority of cantons.
Switzerland currently produces just under half of the food it consumes. The initiative sought to reduce that dependence by requiring a substantial increase in domestic production within ten years. Its authors also wanted farming and consumption to move toward more plant-based food, so that the same land could feed more people.
The constitutional programme reached beyond production volumes. It called for stronger protection of drinking water, soil fertility and biodiversity, with reduced use of pesticides and fertilisers. Parliament would have been responsible for translating those broad obligations into legislation and for choosing the measures used to meet the deadline.
Opponents accepted the importance of food security but argued that the prescribed targets tried to achieve too much too quickly. The government warned that a sharp increase in self-sufficiency could conflict with environmental aims, consumer choice and Switzerland’s trading relationships, particularly if domestic production could not supply the required mix at competitive prices.
The vote does not repeal the food-security mandate already found in the federal constitution. It rejects a more detailed and demanding set of production and environmental instructions. Existing agricultural policy, including current support programmes and environmental conditions, therefore remains in place unless Parliament changes it through ordinary legislation.
The full proposal and the continuing official tally are available through the Swiss federal information portal.
