Aim is to better understand the political and personal decision-making processes and their triggers. We will answer following questions:
The major goal of this research project is to assess the potential for sustainable transformation in Swiss agriculture in order to internalize negative externalities that stem from pesticide use.
We follow the assumption that diverse types, sources, and pathways of evidence have the potential to trigger different stakeholders’ attitudes towards pesticide use and regulation. We argue that besides farmers, i.e. the primary applicants of pesticides in agriculture, multiple other actors (aligning along the food value chain, and including public authorities and the political elite) are affected by and impact potential transformation processes in Swiss agriculture.
To study the potential for such an evidence-based transformation process in a field characterized by trade-offs and sustainability challenges, the project aims at investigating first how evidence triggered pesticide-related transformation in farming, politics, academia, and the media in the past. We then produce new evidence through innovative epidemiological exposure assessments of farmers and the rural population. Thereafter, we answer the question what type of information changes farmers’ and other stakeholders’ attitudes and preferences related to pesticide use and regulation.
Finally, we develop and assess the potential of acceptable and feasible cross-sectoral policies, and options for pesticide regulation and improved practices at different levels, in close collaboration with policy makers, authorities, and stakeholders.
