Germany Launches Nutrient Management Program as Switzerland Debates Food Self‑Sufficiency Initiative

The German Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Nutrition and Rural Development is funding a wide range of projects under the Federal Nutrient Management Programme. The aims are to improve nutrient efficiency of organic fertilizers, reduce nitrogen and phosphorus runoff that pollutes water, and lower ammonia emissions. Research includes real‑time nutrient quantification with mobile NIRS technology and regional concepts for processing and transporting livestock waste.

In Switzerland, a public campaign opposes a proposed nutrition initiative that would raise the country's net food self‑sufficiency from 46% to 70% within ten years and promote greater plant production. Critics argue that meeting the target would require intensifying arable farming at the expense of soil health, biodiversity and animal welfare, and that the calorie‑based self‑sufficiency metric is misleading.