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Evaluating the performance of Swiss crop production
Pesticide use in agricultural cropping systems is critical for food security but its adverse effects on human health and the environment have been repeatedly shown. Thus, promoting the efficient use of inputs in crop production, for reducing these adverse effects, is an urgent topic in the agricultural policy agendas globally (e.g Ahovi et al., 2024). In Switzerland, pesticide use is a highly debatable topic and the country has its own initiatives to mitigate the harmful impacts of pesticides (see Finger 2021). Consequently, understanding the factors that affect the performance of crop producers in terms of efficiency is necessary for promoting a more sustainable crop production (Devilliers et al., 2024).
Statistical analysis in R using farm level data from crop production in Switzerland.
Statistical analysis in R using farm level data from crop production in Switzerland.
The aim of this M.Sc. thesis is to examine how efficient is the use of inputs in crop production. There are two key questions:
1) Are there differences in the efficient use of inputs across different crop production systems (e.g. Extenso vs conventional)
2) Is efficiency improving over time or decreasing?
**References**
Ahovi, E., Schneider, K. & Lansink, A.O. (2021) Technical inefficiency of Dutch vegetable farms: Specific-input analyses. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0250494. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250494
Devilliers, E., Möhring, N., Finger, R. (2024) Estimation and comparison of the performance of low-input and conventional agricultural production systems, Q Open, 4(1).
Finger, R. No pesticide-free Switzerland. Nature Plants 7, 1324–1325 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01009-6
The aim of this M.Sc. thesis is to examine how efficient is the use of inputs in crop production. There are two key questions:
1) Are there differences in the efficient use of inputs across different crop production systems (e.g. Extenso vs conventional)
2) Is efficiency improving over time or decreasing?
**References**
Ahovi, E., Schneider, K. & Lansink, A.O. (2021) Technical inefficiency of Dutch vegetable farms: Specific-input analyses. PLoS ONE, 16(4), e0250494. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250494
Devilliers, E., Möhring, N., Finger, R. (2024) Estimation and comparison of the performance of low-input and conventional agricultural production systems, Q Open, 4(1).
Finger, R. No pesticide-free Switzerland. Nature Plants 7, 1324–1325 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01009-6
Iordanis Parikoglou (iparikoglou@ethz.ch)
Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)