Heatwave leaves Swiss farmers short of water and feed

A heatwave has pushed parts of Switzerland’s lowlands and Alpine regions into a precarious situation, with farmers facing shortages of water and feed, SRF reported in an interview with Ernst Wandfluh, an SVP member of the Swiss National Council and president of the Swiss Alpine Farming Association.

Wandfluh said Alpine farmers had made emotional phone calls asking what they could do after running out of water. Those without an access road must have water flown in by helicopter at high cost, he said.

He criticised what he described as the army’s hesitant response to requests for helicopter flights. The cantons must forward the requests to the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection, Sport and the Armed Forces, but had not always done so, Wandfluh said. He also reported a sense among some cantons that farmers received direct payments and should have invested in their water supplies earlier.

Moving animals down from the Alps is not always a solution because feed is also running short in the valleys. Many farmers in the Swiss Plateau are already using their winter reserves, Wandfluh said. They face a choice between buying expensive feed and emergency slaughter. Slaughtering animals means losing the basis of production for the following year, he added.

Wandfluh said his party now accepted that climate change was taking place, but argued that Switzerland could do little to reduce it because of its small share of global carbon dioxide emissions. He said the country should not lead with bans and instead called for individuals to live more modestly, buy and waste less, consider where clothes came from and consume domestic meat.

He rejected the idea that farmers were leaving the SVP for the Greens, saying farmers experienced what he called green policies when environmental organisations blocked projects such as the capture of a spring for years with numerous requirements.

Wandfluh also said he disagreed with fellow SVP politician and Environment Minister Albert Rösti’s decision to cut funding for adapting forests to climate change. He said he wanted Parliament to reverse the decision, arguing that healthy forests were important water reservoirs.

The retreat of glaciers was his greatest concern for the future, Wandfluh said. Water would become one of the major issues of the future, he added.