Reducing production costs is currently one of the most important challenges facing Swiss agriculture. Costs in Switzerland are markedly higher than in the neighbouring countries.
Cost analyses are used to highlight ways to reduce costs at farm-activity and process level. Productivity analysis serves to determine factors of decisive importance for the efficiency of individual farms.
The results of these analyses assist practitioners and advisory services in defining individual-farm strategies for boosting competitiveness and increasing income. For the administration and policy-makers, individual-farm results are of relevance for the shaping of agricultural- policy framework conditions and the practical implementation of agricultural policy instruments.