Bachelor’s and Master’s Theses
We are looking forward to supervise students for their Bachelor and Master theses. Please find proposals for Bachelor’s or Master’s Theses from our group in the lists below. Do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information.
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Open Topics
For master theses, also bilateral agreements on thesis topics can be made. Please contact Prof. Dr. Robert Finger directly for further information (Email: rofinger@ethz.ch).
Note that we cannot take over the supervision of topics defined with third parties and that have not been discussed with us beforehand.
Bottlenecks in Climate Change Adaptation for Arable Crop Farming
This master thesis examines the bottlenecks in climate change adaptation for arable crop farming, with a focus on the behavioral and socioeconomic factors. By analyzing survey data from 700 farms in Germany, it aims to identify the key barriers to effective uptake of adaptation measures and provide insights for developing more efficient and targeted strategies to enhance agricultural resilience to climate change.
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Keywords
Climate Change Adaptation, Arable Crop Farming, Agriculture, Resilience, Adaptation Strategies
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Master Thesis
Description
Agriculture is widely regarded as one of the most vulnerable sectors to the adverse impacts of climate change, with arable farming being particularly susceptible. Projections suggest that these impacts will intensify in the coming decades, compelling farmers to adapt to an increasingly unpredictable climate. Over the years, various climate change adaptation strategies have been proposed, including diversification, conservation tillage, and crop insurance. While many farmers have already adopted a variety of these strategies to mitigate climate risks, the extent of adaptation varies significantly across farms. Recent studies have highlighted the critical role that farmer characteristics and behavioral factors—such as risk tolerance, personality traits, and climate perceptions—play in shaping adaptation decisions. Understanding the conditions required for effective climate adaptation is essential for policymakers, farmers, and other stakeholders within the agricultural sector. By identifying the key bottlenecks that hinder adaptation, this research aims to facilitate the development of more targeted and efficient strategies, ultimately strengthening the sector's resilience to climate variability. This thesis employs Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) to systematically identify and evaluate the critical factors that must be present for successful uptake of climate adaptation measures in arable crop farming. NCA is an easily implementable method used to identify conditions that must be met for a specific outcome, as the outcome cannot occur without them.
Goal
This thesis aims at identifying key bottlenecks for climate change adaptation linked to behavioral and socioeconomic characteristics of farmers. This research will involve an econometric analysis of existing data from an online survey with 700 apprenticing farms in Germany.
Literature
Carter, C., Cui, X., Ghanem, D., & Mérel, P. (2018). Identifying the Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 10(June), 361–380. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100517-022938
Dessart, F. J., Barreiro-Hurlé, J., & Van Bavel, R. (2019). Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: A policy-oriented review. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 46(3), 417–471. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbz019
Dul, J. (2021). Advances in Necessary Condition Analysis. https://bookdown.org/ncabook/advanced_nca2/.
Moore, F. C., & Lobell, D. B. (2014). Adaptation potential of European agriculture in response to climate change. Nature Climate Change, 4(7), 610–614. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2228
Contact Details
Christian Stetter (cstetter@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2025-03-13
: 2025-03-13
: Agroscope , ETH Zurich , University of Zurich
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Stetter Christian
Topics: Economics
Is Reducing Livestock Populations Necessary for Achieving Low-Emission Agriculture?
Livestock farming is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within agriculture, raising the question of whether reducing livestock populations is essential for achieving low-emission agriculture. This thesis examines whether such reductions are a necessary condition and identifies bottleneck levels of livestock counts for given GHG emission targets. Using Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA), the research also explores the potential of alternative mitigation strategies, such as feed optimization, manure management, and technological innovations.
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Keywords
Climate Change Mitigation, Livestock Farming, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Low-Carbon Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems
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Master Thesis
Description
Agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, accounting for approximately 11% of total global emissions, with livestock farming being the largest source within the sector (Ritchie et al., 2024). Achieving climate targets requires substantial reductions in agricultural emissions, prompting discussions on effective mitigation strategies. Various measures, such as feed optimization, manure management, and technological innovations, have been proposed to reduce emissions from livestock farming—particularly cattle (Garnett, 2009; Herrero et al., 2016). However, a key question remains: Are these strategies sufficient to achieve low-emission agriculture, or is a reduction in livestock numbers necessary? Recent policy initiatives, such as government buyout schemes aimed at decreasing livestock populations, have intensified this debate (Boezeman et al., 2023). Reducing livestock numbers and the consumption of livestock products is increasingly considered a potential pathway to lowering agricultural emissions. This thesis seeks to assess whether such reductions are a necessary condition for achieving low-emission agriculture and, if so, which types of livestock are most critical in this regard. Using Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA ), this research systematically evaluates the role of livestock reduction in achieving climate goals and identifies key bottlenecks in the transition to a more climate-friendly agricultural system. NCA is an easily implementable method used to identify conditions that must be met for a specific outcome, as the outcome cannot occur without them. The analysis can be approached from different perspectives, including global, regional (e.g., Europe), or national (e.g., Switzerland) datasets. The specific scope and dataset selection are subject to discussion and can be determined together with the student.
Goal
This thesis aims to determine whether reducing livestock populations is a necessary condition for achieving low-emission agriculture. If so, it seeks to identify bottleneck levels of livestock counts for given levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the research will explore various scenarios incorporating feeding strategies, manure management, and technological innovations to assess their potential in mitigating emissions while maintaining current livestock production levels.
Literature
Boezeman, D., De Pue, D., Graversgaard, M., & Möckel, S. (2023). Less Livestock in North‐western Europe? Discourses and Drivers Behind Livestock Buyout Policies. EuroChoices, 22(2), 4–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12399
Dul, J. (2021). Advances in Necessary Condition Analysis. https://bookdown.org/ncabook/advanced_nca2/. Garnett, T. (2009). Livestock-related greenhouse gas emissions: Impacts and options for policy makers. Environmental Science & Policy, 12(4), 491–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2009.01.006
Herrero, M., Henderson, B., Havlík, P., Thornton, P. K., Conant, R. T., Smith, P., Wirsenius, S., Hristov, A. N., Gerber, P., Gill, M., Butterbach-Bahl, K., Valin, H., Garnett, T., & Stehfest, E. (2016). Greenhouse gas mitigation potentials in the livestock sector. Nature Climate Change, 6(5), 452–461. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2925
Ritchie, H., Rosado, P., & Roser, M. (2024). Breakdown of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide emissions by sector. Our World in Data.
Contact Details
Christian Stetter (cstetter@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2025-03-13
: Agroscope , ETH Zurich , University of Zurich
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Stetter Christian
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Direktdemokratische Instrumente als Treiber einer nachhaltigen Ernährungspolitik in der Schweiz?
Die Bachelorarbeit untersucht, wie Volksinitiativen und Referenden in der Schweiz die Agrar- und Ernährungspolitik beeinflussen und zur Transformation des Ernährungssystems beitragen. Im Fokus steht, inwiefern direktdemokratische Instrumente die Nachhaltigkeitsdimensionen – ökonomische, ökologische und soziale – im Ernährungssystem beeinflussen. Durch eine qualitative Analyse von Volksinitiativen und politischen Debatten wird aufgezeigt, wie Zielkonflikte zwischen diesen Dimensionen entstehen und welche politischen Anpassungsprozesse durch die direkte Demokratie angestossen werden.
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Keywords
Nachhaltige Ernährung, Agrarpolitik, Direkte Demokratie
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Bachelor Thesis
Description
Die direkte Demokratie ist ein zentrales Element der Schweizer Politik und ermöglicht es Bürger:innen, durch Volksinitiativen neue politische Agenden zu setzen oder bestehende Gesetze mittels Referenden zu hinterfragen. In den letzten Jahren wurden zahlreiche Initiativen zu Nachhaltigkeits- und Umweltfragen eingereicht, wodurch auch die Agrar- und Ernährungspolitik zunehmend durch direktdemokratische Prozesse geprägt wird (Huber & Finger, 2019). Parallel dazu wächst international die Anerkennung dafür, dass Ernährungspolitik nicht isoliert betrachtet werden kann, sondern als integrales Steuerungsinstrument dienen sollte, das ökonomische, ökologische und soziale Dimensionen gleichermassen berücksichtigt (Huber, 2022). Die Ernährungs- und Landwirtschaftsorganisation der Vereinten Nationen (FAO) definiert nachhaltige Ernährungssysteme als solche, die Ernährungssicherheit gewährleisten, natürliche Ressourcen schonen und soziale Gerechtigkeit fördern (FAO, 2014). Die Bachelorarbeit leistet einen Beitrag zum Verständnis der direkten Demokratie als Instrument der nachhaltigen Politikgestaltung in den Bereichen Agrar und Ernährung. Sie zeigt, welche Rolle direktdemokratische Instrumente bei der Transformation des Schweizer Ernährungssystems spielen. Die Ergebnisse können wertvolle Impulse für zukünftige politische Steuerungsinstrumente liefern. Diese Arbeit untersucht anhand einer qualitativen Analyse, wie Volksinitiativen und Referenden im Agrar- und Ernährungsbereich die politische Debatte prägen. Im Fokus stehen dabei offizielle Dokumente aus Verwaltung und Politik, die Einblicke in Entscheidungsprozesse und Argumentationsmuster bieten.
Goal
Die Arbeit untersucht, inwiefern Volksinitiativen und Referenden in der Schweiz zur Transformation der Agrar- und Ernährungspolitik beitragen. Dabei soll analysiert werden, ob und wie direktdemokratische Instrumente Nachhaltigkeitsdimensionen im Ernährungssystem stärken und welche Zielkonflikte zwischen ökonomischen, ökologischen und sozialen Aspekten entstehen können. Zentrale Fragestellungen sind: Wie beeinflussen Volksinitiativen und Referenden die Schweizer Ernährungspolitik im Kontext von Nachhaltigkeit? - Welche Nachhaltigkeitsdimensionen stehen im Zentrum dieser direktdemokratischen Instrumente?
Literature
FAO. (2014). Developing sustainable food value chains – Guiding principles. FAO.
Huber, R. (2022). Einführung in die Schweizer Agrarpolitik (1. Aufl.). vdf Hochschulverlag AG an der ETH Zürich. https://doi.org/10.3218/4059-3
Huber, R., & Finger, R. (2019). Popular initiatives increasingly stimulate agricultural policy in Switzerland. EuroChoices, 18(2), 38–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/1746-692X.12209
Contact Details
Christian Stetter (cstetter@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2025-03-13
: Agroscope , ETH Zurich , University of Zurich
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Stetter Christian
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Master thesis: Crop protection in organic and non-organic pesticide-free arable farming
Pesticide-free (non-organic) crop production is currently gaining ground in European agriculture as a new alternative pathway between conventional and organic farming. To successfully produce crops without using pesticides, farmers must adopt sustainable crop protection measures, e.g., following the principles of integrated crop protection (IPM) or agroecological crop protection (ACP). Even though both production systems, i.e., pesticide-free non-organic and organic, work without pesticides, the alternative crop protection measures used may differ between organic and non-organic farms. To date, little is known about potential differences between farming systems without pesticides regarding the adoption of alternative crop protection strategies.
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Keywords
crop protection, pesticide-free, organic, integrated pest management (IPM), wheat, maize, Switzerland
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Master Thesis
Description
A descriptive analysis of the data is conducted by dividing the sample of wheat and maize producers into two subgroups: (a) farmers who adhere to organic farming standards, and (b) farmers who do not use pesticides but do not meet organic standards (possibly enrolled in pesticide-free production schemes).
Goal
Based on survey data of 1540 Swiss wheat and maize producers, the thesis focuses on the crop protection strategies adopted by organic wheat and maize producers in Switzerland, comparing these practices to those of non-organic, pesticide-free producers. The latter group refers to farmers who avoid using chemical synthetic pesticides specifically for wheat and maize but may apply them to other crops within their rotation. Differences between wheat and maize cultivation methods are analyzed to understand how protection strategies may vary depending on the crop. The analysis furthermore looks at the types of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies employed by both groups, such as long-term strategies like wider crop rotation or more resource-intensive investments, such as specialized machinery. Moreover, differences in farmers’ ratings of the effectiveness of IPM measures are investigated. This comparison sheds light on the diversity of crop protection strategies within different farming systems and provides insights into the perceived efficacy of those approaches.
Main research questions:
1. How does the portfolio of IPM measures differ between organic and non-organic, pesticide free wheat and maize production?
2. What kinds of IPM strategies (i.e., long-term strategies such as wider crop rotation or strategies with a higher investment e.g. for machinery) are used by organic as compared to non-organic but pesticide free producing farmers?
3. Do organic farmers rely more on preventive measures?
4. How do both groups of farmers evaluate the effectiveness of IPM measures?
Contact Details
Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch) Sharmin Akter (sharmin.akter@mtec.ethz.ch)
Published since: 2025-03-10
: 2025-02-02
: 2026-01-22
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Akter Sharmin
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences
Behavioral drivers of climate change adaptation in crop farming
Agriculture is widely recognized as one of the most vulnerable sectors to the adverse effects of climate change, which is particularly true for arable farming. Projections indicate that these effects will worsen in the coming decades. Farmers will have to adapt to the changing climate. Multiple climate change adaptation strategies have been suggested over the last decades, including, e.g., diversification, conservation tillage or crop insurance. However, little is known about the behavioral factors influencing the adoption of such strategies. This master thesis aims to investigate the influence of farmers’ behavioral characteristics on the uptake of climate change adaptation measures in the context of German arable farming.
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Keywords
Clilmate change adaptation, arable farming, behavioral economics, decision-making
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Master Thesis
Description
Arable farming is often seen as one of the most vulnerable sectors to the effects of climate change as changes in temperature and precipitation have a direct impact on crop yields and the risk of crop failure, but also indirectly lead, for example, to changes in pest and disease pressure. This thesis analyses actually implemented adaptation measures. Farmers have already implemented a wide range of adaptation strategies that aim at reducing the adverse effects of climate change. However, the degree of adaptation varies widely across farms. In recent years, it has been shown that behavioral factors such as risk tolerance, personality or perceptions influence farmers’ decisions. In this context, it is also likely that farmers’ behavioral characteristics affect their probability to adopt climate change adaptation strategies. However, this relationship is still underexplored.
References
Carter, C., Cui, X., Ghanem, D., & Mérel, P. (2018). Identifying the Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture. Annual Review of Resource Economics, 10(June), 361–380. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-resource-100517-022938
Dessart, F. J., Barreiro-Hurlé, J., & Van Bavel, R. (2019). Behavioural factors affecting the adoption of sustainable farming practices: A policy-oriented review. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 46(3), 417–471. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jbz019
Mase, A. S., Gramig, B. M., & Prokopy, L. S. (2017). Climate change beliefs, risk perceptions, and adaptation behavior among Midwestern U.S. crop farmers. Climate Risk Management, 15, 8–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crm.2016.11.004
Moore, F. C., & Lobell, D. B. (2014). Adaptation potential of European agriculture in response to climate change. Nature Climate Change, 4(7), 610–614. https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2228
Streletskaya, N. A., Bell, S. D., Kecinski, M., Li, T., Banerjee, S., Palm-Forster, L. H., & Pannell, D. (2020). Agricultural adoption and behavioral economics: Bridging the gap. Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, 42(1), 54–66. https://doi.org/10.1002/aepp.13006
Goal
This thesis aims at quantifying the impact of farmers’ behavioral factors such risk tolerance, climate change perception or social-evaluative concerns on the uptake of specific climate change adaptation measures. This research will involve an econometric analysis of recently collected data from an online survey with 700 apprenticing farms in Germany.
Contact Details
Christian Stetter (cstetter@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2025-03-06
: 2022-12-09
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Stetter Christian
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Do extreme weather shocks amplify structural change in European agriculture?
Agriculture is widely recognized as one of the most vulnerable sectors to the adverse effects of climate change. This thesis aims to identify effects of weather shocks on farm structural indicators. It combines official statistics provided by the EU with meteorological data and provides causal estimates of weather shocks on farm structural indicators using econometric methods.
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Keywords
Climate change, extreme weather, structural change, farm exits
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Master Thesis
Description
The number of farms have been decreasing continuously across Europe. Between 2005 and 2016, for example, the number of farms decreased at a yearly rate of 2.0 % in France, 2.3 % in Austria, 3.1 % in Germany and 3.7 % in Italy. At the same time, there has been a rise in global average temperature, which is associated with widespread changes in weather patterns such that extreme weather events like heat waves and droughts are likely to become more frequent or more intense. This associated uncertainty imposes additional hazards (e.g. yield and quality losses) on farm businesses, which could negatively affect farms to the point of exiting their businesses. On top of farm exits (and entries), extreme weather could also induce structural adjustments, e.g. in terms of farm size or diversification. So far the relationship between climate change, weather and farm structure has been widely underexplored. This master thesis aims to tackle this research gap.
Goal
This thesis aims at quantifying the short and long-run impacts of extreme weather shocks on the agricultural structural change in the EU. This thesis combines official statistics provided by the EU with meteorological data and provides causal estimates of weather shocks on farm structural indicators using econometric methods.
Literature
Neuenfeldt, S., Gocht, A., Heckelei, T., & Ciaian, P. (2019). Explaining farm structural change in the European agriculture: A novel analytical framework. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 46(5), 713–768. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jby037
Breustedt, G., & Glauben, T. (2007). Driving forces behind exiting from farming in Western Europe. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 58(1), 115–127. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1477-9552.2007.00082.x
Neuenfeldt, S., Gocht, A., Heckelei, T., & Ciaian, P. (2019). Explaining farm structural change in the European agriculture: A novel analytical framework. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 46(5), 713–768. https://doi.org/10.1093/erae/jby037
Schickele, R. (1949). Farm Business Survival under Extreme Weather Risks. Journal of Farm Economics, 31(4), 931. https://doi.org/10.2307/1233760
Contact Details
Christian Stetter (cstetter@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2025-03-06
: 2023-05-15
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Stetter Christian
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Analyse der Schweizer AgriFood-Startup-Szene: Relevanz und Umsetzung ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit
Der Agrar- und Ernährungssektor muss die Nahrungsmittelproduktion steigern, um die wachsende Weltbevölkerung zu ernähren, steht aber gleichzeitig vor erheblichen Umweltproblemen. Innovative und nachhaltige Lösungen sind erforderlich, um das Ernährungssystem tiefgreifend zu transformieren, wobei Start-ups im Bereich AgriFoodTech eine Schlüsselrolle spielen. Auch die Schweizer AgriFood-Startup-Szene befindet sich im Aufschwung und bietet neue Möglichkeiten für eine nachhaltige Zukunft. Die Bachelorarbeit erarbeitet einen detaillierten Einblick in die Schweizer AgriFood Startup Landschaft, indem sie die genutzten Technologien, regionalen Hotspots und adressierten Marktsegmente analysiert. Zudem soll die Umsetzung ökologischer Nachhaltigkeit basierend auf dem Konzept planetarer Grenzen evaluiert werden, unter Verwendung der Schweizer Startup-Datenbank swiss.ch.
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Keywords
AgriFoodTech, Startups, Landwirtschaft, Ernährung, Nachhaltigkeit
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Bachelor Thesis
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Published since: 2025-03-06
: 2024-05-23
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Stetter Christian
Topics: Economics
Absatzförderung für Hülsenfrüchte: Mechanismen und Potenziale
Die Bachelorarbeit untersucht die Absatzförderung in der Schweiz vor dem Hintergrund der Herausforderungen für die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit von Hülsenfrüchten aufgrund hoher Produktionskosten und fehlendem Grenzschutz. Ziel ist es, die Funktionsweise der Absatzförderung, die Auswahl geförderter Produkte sowie die Potenziale für die Aufnahme von Hülsenfrüchten zu analysieren.
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Keywords
Nachhaltige Ernährung; Agrarpolitik; Absatzförderung; Hülsenfrüchte
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Bachelor Thesis
Description
Hintergrund Hülsenfrüchte sind ein wesentlicher Bestandteil einer ausgewogenen, pflanzenbasierten Ernährung. Da die inländische Produktion vergleichsweise teuer ist und somit nicht wettbewerbsfähig, werden Hülsenfrüchte bevorzugt günstig aus dem Ausland bezogen. Dieser Effekt wird dadurch verstärkt, dass es in der Schweiz keinen substanziellen Grenzschutz für Hülsenfrüchte gibt. Abgesehen vom Grenzschutz, bietet die Absatzförderung eine Alternative zur Unterstützung der inländischen Produktion, welche die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der einheimischen Produktion stärkt Mit der Absatzförderung leistet der Bund einen Beitrag an die Kommunikationsmassnahmen der Branchen- und Produzentenorganisationen. Das Ziel ist, die Vorteile von Schweizer Landwirtschaftsprodukten zu präsentieren und die Präferenz für inländische Erzeugnisse zu erhöhen. Die Absatzförderung trägt dazu bei, dass sich Schweizer Produkte gegenüber Importen behaupten und auf Exportmärkten bestehen können. Welche Produkte gefördert werden, wird im Umsetzungsprogramm vorgegeben gemäss einer Formel, welche Anteile berücksichtigt. Momentan werden die meisten Mittel im Rahmen der Absatzförderung für Käse ausgegeben, aber auch Wein ist relevant.
Fragestellung - Wie funktioniert die Absatzförderung in der Schweiz? - Welche Produkte werden momentan gefördert und was sind die Gründe für diese Förderung? - Welche Relevanz hat die Absatzförderung im Vergleich zu anderen agrarpolitischen Instrumenten? - Welche Faktoren sind relevant, das neue Produkte, wie Hülsenfrüchte, in die Absatzförderung aufgenommen werden?
Methoden - Literaturrecherche - Anwendung theoretischer Grundlagen, z.B. aus der Vorlesung Einführung in die Agrarpolitik - Experten-Interviews
Goal
Ziel dieser Bachelorarbeit ist es, die Funktionsweise der Absatzförderung in der Schweiz zu analysieren, geförderte Produkte und deren Auswahlkriterien zu untersuchen und die Relevanz der Absatzförderung im Vergleich zu anderen agrarpolitischen Instrumenten sowie die Potenziale für Hülsenfrüchte zu bewerten.
Contact Details
Robert Finger; rofinger@ethz.ch Robert Huber; rhuber@ethz Diese Bachelorarbeit wird in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Verein Schweizer Hülsenfrüchte realisiert https://schweizerhuelsenfruechte.ch/.
Published since: 2025-01-17
: 2025-01-12
: 2025-02-01
: ETH Zurich
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-USYS
Hosts: Finger Robert, Dr.
Topics: Economics
Analyse von Schweizer Agrarmärkten
Beschreibung und ökonomische Interpretation der Marktordnung eines Schweizer Agrarmarktes
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Keywords
Agrarmärkte, Wertschöpfungskette, Marktordnung
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Bachelor Thesis
Description
Hintergrund: Die Wertschöpfungskette von Nahrungsmitteln weist in der Schweiz eine X-Struktur auf. Die X-Struktur beschreibt eine Wertschöpfungskette in welcher viele Produzentinnen und Produzenten wenigen Verarbeitern beziehungswiese wenigen Händlern gegenüberstehen, diese aber wiederum viele Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten beliefern. In der Schweiz werden die Nahrungsmittel von vielen Landwirtschaftsbetrieben hergestellt. Sie entsprechen einer atomistischen Struktur. Das hat zur Folge, dass der einzelne Landwirt durch seine Produktionsmenge den Preis für das Produkt nicht bestimmen kann. Auch die Konsumentinnen und Konsumenten weisen eine atomistische Struktur auf. Niemand kann durch seine Nachfrage den Preis für die Nahrungsmittel beeinflussen. Demgegenüber stehen die Abnehmer und Händler. Diese umfassen nur wenige Akteure und ihre Entscheidungen über Mengen können die Preise beeinflussen. Dadurch kann Marktmacht entstehen. Die Politik greift in die Agrarmärkte ein, um ein besseres Gleichgewicht zwischen den Akteuren der Wertschöpfungskette zu schaffen. Aus der Kombination der Wettbewerbssituation (Anzahl Akteure und Organisation) und den agrarpolitischen Eingriffen entsteht eine sogenannte Marktordnung. Für unterschiedliche Agrarmärkte wie beispielsweise Kalb- oder Geflügelfleisch, Brotgetreide oder Zucker aber auch Äpfel oder Trauben bestehen unterschiedliche Marktordnungen. Methodisches Vorgehen: Die Bachelorarbeit besteht aus einer ausführlichen Literatur- und Datenrecherche zu einem ausgewählten Agrarmarkt in der Schweiz. Die Studentin oder der Student kann selber entscheiden, welchen Markt sie oder er untersuchen möchte.
Goal
Darstellung und ökonomische Interpretation der Marktordnung eines ausgewählten Schweizer Agrarmarktes.
Contact Details
Robert Huber rhuber@ethz.ch
Published since: 2025-01-13
: 2021-11-15
: 2022-12-31
: ETH Zurich
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-USYS
Hosts: Huber Robert
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences
Bachelor thesis: How much does it cost for EU dairy farmers to the reduce environmental pressures? - a literature review
Dairy production holds significant economic and social importance in Europe (European Commission 2020). However, the sector is a major contributor to environmental pressures, including greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and ammonia emissions (European Commission 2024). Developing effective agri-environmental schemes to help farmers mitigate these pressures is therefore a key policy objective in many European countries. The success of such schemes often hinges on the level of compensation provided to farmers and the costs they incur to comply with the associated regulations. To address this, some studies have adopted production-based approaches using farm-level data to estimate the costs of mitigating environmental pressures, aiming to establish fair compensation for farmers participating in these schemes (e.g., Peerlings and Polman 2004; Mamardashvili et al. 2016; Dalheimer et al. 2024) However, there is a lack of comprehensive literature reviews examining whether certain environmental pressures have been prioritized over others when estimating these costs. Filling this gap could provide valuable insights for designing agri-environmental schemes that address environmental pressures in dairy farming more holistically.
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Keywords
Dairy farming, environmental pressures, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, ammonia emissions, biodiversity, agri-environmental payments
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Bachelor Thesis
Description
Bachelor thesis
Goal
The goal of for this B.Sc. thesis is to conduct a literature review on addressing the aforementioned research gap. There are three research objectives:
1) What are the most relevant environmental indicators for dairy farming?
2) Which of these indicators have been received the most attention for calculating the cost of reduction?
3) Which environmental indicators (e.g. biodiversity, impact on water, deforestation, soil health, etc) lack of sufficient research?
References
Dalheimer, B., Parikoglou, I., Brambach, F., Yanita, M., Kreft, H., and Brümmer, B. (2024). On the palm oil-biodiversity trade-off: Environmental performance of smallholder producers. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 125:102975.
European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Peyraud, J. and MacLeod, M., Future of EU livestock – How to contribute to a sustainable agricultural sector ? – Final report, Publications Office, 2020, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2762/3440
European Commission: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, Marie-Laure Augère-Granier, The EU dairy sector: Main features, challenges and prospects – Final report, Publications Office, 2024, https://www.europarl.europa.eu/thinktank/en/document/EPRS_BRI(2018)630345
Gullstrand, J., Blander, R., and Waldo, S. (2014). The Influence of Biodiversity Provision on the Cost Structure of Swedish Dairy Farming. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 65(1):87–111.
Mamardashvili, Phatima, Emvalomatis, Grigorios and Jan, Pierrick, (2016), Environmental Performance and Shadow Value of Polluting on Swiss Dairy Farms, Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 41, issue 2, number 235154
OECD (2022), Making Agri-Environmental Payments More Cost Effective, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4cf10d76-en.
Peerlings, J. and Polman, N. (2004). Wildlife and landscape services production in Dutch dairy farming; jointness and transaction costs. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 31(4):427–449
Contact Details
Iordanis Parikoglou (iparikoglou@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2024-12-22
: 2025-01-01
: 2027-01-01
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Parikoglou Iordanis
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Master thesis: Calculating the cost of biodiversity conservation at the Swiss dairy farms
Biodiversity is widely recognized as a critical challenge to agricultural production (Dainesem et al., 2019). This issue has been acknowledged by many European countries, leading to the implementation of specific policies and instruments, such as agri-environmental schemes aimed at reversing biodiversity decline (Pe’er et al., 2017). In Switzerland, two primary policy instruments address biodiversity conservation. The first is a set of cross-compliance requirements, known as the Proof of Ecological Performance, which mandates that farmers allocate a portion of their land to ecological focus areas (FOAG 2021). The second, which complements the first, involves action-based and result-based direct payments designed to preserve and enhance biodiversity (Huber et al. 2024). The success of such agri-environmental schemes often depends on the level of compensation provided to farmers and the costs of farms to comply with the regulations in agri-environmental schemes. Consequently, some studies use production-based approaches with farm-level data to approximate the cost of biodiversity conservation (e.g. Peerlings and Polman 2004; Gullstrand et al. 2014; Dalheimer et al. 2024). However, two significant gaps remain: 1) no study has calculated the cost of biodiversity conservation at the farm level using these approaches for Swiss dairy farms 2) no study has examined whether the choice of the farm level biodiversity measure can affect the magnitude of the estimated. Addressing both gaps can be very informative for the efforts of Swiss agricultural policy for designing effective biodiversity conservation schemes.
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Keywords
Dairy farming, biodiversity, Swiss agriculture, sustainability
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Master Thesis
Description
Master thesis
Goal
The goal of for this M.Sc. thesis is to address the two aforementioned research gaps. For this, econometric techniques will be applied on a panel of Swiss dairy farm level data (2009-2021) from the Swiss farm accountancy data network. There are three research objectives:
1)What is the cost of conservation biodiversity at the farm level?
2) Which farm characteristics affect the cost of biodiversity (e.g. size of the farm, regional location, etc)?
3) Does the cost of biodiversity conservation depend on the choice of biodiversity measure at the farm level?
References
Dainesem M. et al., (2019) A global synthesis reveals biodiversity-mediated benefits for crop production. Sci. Adv. 5, eaax0121
Dalheimer, B., Parikoglou, I., Brambach, F., Yanita, M., Kreft, H., and Brümmer, B. (2024). On the palm oil-biodiversity trade-off: Environmental performance of smallholder producers. Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 125:102975.
FOAG (2021). Uberblick: Direktzahlungen an schweizer ganz-jahresbetriebe. Federal Offce for Agriculture (ed.). Bern: Federal Offce for Agriculture.
Gullstrand, J., Blander, R., and Waldo, S. (2014). The Influence of Biodiversity Provision on the Cost Structure of Swedish Dairy Farming. Journal of Agricultural Economics, 65(1):87–111.
Huber, R., El Benni, N., and Finger, R. (2024). Lessons learned and policy implications from 20 years of swiss agricultural policy reforms: A review of policy evaluations. Biobased and Applied Economics, 13(2):121–146
Pe’er, G. et al., (2017). Adding some green to the greening: Improving the EU’s ecological focus areas for biodiversity and farmers. Conserv. Lett. 10, 517–530 (2017).
Peerlings, J. and Polman, N. (2004). Wildlife and landscape services production in Dutch dairy farming; jointness and transaction costs. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 31(4):427–449
Contact Details
Iordanis Parikoglou (iparikoglou@ethz.ch)
Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2024-12-22
: 2025-01-01
: 2027-01-01
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Parikoglou Iordanis
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Master thesis: The effect of soil erosion risk on Swiss dairy production
Healthy soil is essential of agriculture and a key resource for meeting 21st-century human needs such as food, feed, fiber, clean water, and clean air (Amundson et al., 2015). However, soil degradation is a major problem for agriculture globally but also in Switzerland. Agriculture significantly contributes to soil degradation due to its reliance on resource-intensive practices, such as overgrazing (see Borrelli et al., 2017, and references therein). From a theoretical perspective, soil erosion can have a dual effect on agricultural production. On one hand, it degrades soil quality, reducing the effectiveness of land and other inputs, such as fertilizers, and subsequently lowering agricultural output. On the other hand, at higher levels of soil erosion, farmers may adopt advanced technologies that enable more efficient use of land and inputs, allowing them to adapt to ongoing erosion risks and potentially increasing agricultural output. Thus, the net effect of soil erosion on production depends on whether the negative impacts outweigh the positive adaptations or vice versa. The relevance of soil erosion and production also holds for dairy production in Switzerland, e.g. due to the relevance of on farm feed production. Despite its importance, there is a lack of farm-level studies examining the dynamics of soil erosion within the production structure of dairy farming. Addressing this gap could provide valuable policy insights for promoting sustainable farming practices to mitigate soil erosion.
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Keywords
Dairy farming, soil erosion, Swiss agriculture, sustainability
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Master Thesis
Description
Master thesis
Goal
The goal of for this M.Sc. thesis is to address the aforementioned research gaps using econometric techniques that explain the production process of farms (e.g. Parikoglou et al 2024, Bokusheva et al. 2012). A panel of dairy farm level data (2009-2021) from the Swiss farm accountancy data network will be used for the analysis. There are two research objectives:
What is the effect of soil erosion risk on production inputs?
How does the effect of soil erosion risk vary conditional on farm characteristics (e.g. size of farm, location, etc)
References
Amundson, R. et al. (2015) Soil and human security in the 21st century. Science 348, 1261071-1–1261071-6
Bokusheva, R., Kumbhakar, S. C. and Lehmann, B. (2012). The effect of environmental regulations on Swiss farm productivity, International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(1), pages 93-101.
Borrelli, P., Robinson, D.A., Fleischer, L.R. et al. (2017) An assessment of the global impact of 21st century land use change on soil erosion. Nat Commun 8, 2013 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-017-02142-7
Parikoglou, I., Emvalomatis, G., Läpple, D. et al. The contribution of innovation to farm-level productivity. J Prod Anal 62, 239–255 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11123-024-00728-0
Contact Details
Iordanis Parikoglou (iparikoglou@ethz.ch)
Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2024-12-22
: 2025-01-01
: 2027-01-01
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Parikoglou Iordanis
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics
Review of the state of agricultural insurances in dairy farming
Climate change is affecting agricultural production, lowering yields, increasing costs, increasing yield variability and thus causing financial losses for farmers (Webber et al., 2018). There are also negative implications for dairy production (e.g. Bucheli et al. 2022, Gisbert-Queral et al. 2021). Adopting suitable agricultural practices (e.g. cooling systems etc) is necessary for mitigating financial losses due to weather events (e.g. Vroege et al. 2023, Bucheli et al. 2022). Despite this, farmers may still experience financial losses due to weather conditions. In this regard, insurances are an essential complementary management practice for securing farmers’ viable income. Therefore, understanding the current state of the available agricultural insurance is essential for improving their effectiveness in compensating for farmers’ financial losses. Although the literature provides a though examination on the state of agricultural weather insurances offered in crop farming (e.g. Bucheli et al. 2023) and there are selected approaches documented in the literature (e.g. Deng et al. 2007), there is no overview research on and available insurances for heat and drought related damages in the dairy sector.
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Keywords
Dairy production, extreme weather events, climate change, agricultural insurances
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Bachelor Thesis
Goal
The aim of this B.Sc. thesis is to provide a review of the literature on and the current state of weather insurances in European dairy farming focusing on heat and drought related damages. There are three main research questions:
1) What are the main weather risks that threaten dairy farming?
2) What are the main types of insurance solutions offered for these weather-related risks in dairy farming?
3) How the already existing insurance designs could be potentially improved?
References
Webber, H., Ewert, F., Olesen, J. E. et al. (2018). Diverging importance of drought stress for maize and winter wheat in Europe. Nature Communications 9(1): 4249.
Bucheli, J., Conrad, N., Wimmer, S., Dalhaus, T. and Finger, R (2023) Climate Risk Managent 41, 100525
Deng, X., Barnett, B. J., Vedenov, D. V., & West, J. W. (2007). Hedging dairy production losses using weather‐based index insurance. Agricultural Economics, 36(2), 271-280.
Gisbert-Queral, M., Henningsen, A., Markussen, B., Niles, M. T., Kebreab, E., Rigden, A. J., & Mueller, N. D. (2021). Climate impacts and adaptation in US dairy systems 1981–2018. Nature Food, 2(11), 894-901.
Contact Details
Iordanis Parikoglou (iparikoglou@ethz.ch)
Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Published since: 2024-12-19
: 2024-02-21
: 2025-03-01
Organization: Chair of Agricultural Economics and Policy D-MTEC
Hosts: Parikoglou Iordanis
Topics: Agricultural, Veterinary and Environmental Sciences , Economics