Hilcona supports conservation agriculture in Switzerland

Food producer Hilcona AG is getting involved with conservation agriculture in Switzerland, according to a press release. The Schaan-based Liechtenstein company is supporting the Living Soils Switzerland initiative, which is building on the tried-and-tested Living Soils programs for regenerative agriculture across Europe. Participants in the initiative are working together to analyze topics such as humus formation, improvement of soil health, promotion of biodiversity, and soil water retention capacity, and to discuss possible action.

“These issues also affect Hilcona, because more resilient farming systems will secure the future domestic supply of vegetables and potatoes,” says Andreas Messerli, Head of Hilcona Agrar. Led by the Earthworm Foundation, which has its Swiss base in Nyon (canton of Vaud), together with Coop and Eisberg in Dällikon (canton of Zurich), and with the support of the Coop Sustainability Fund, Hilcona is working together with six vegetable and salad producers across Switzerland.

The Living Soils program is focused on three areas: analyzing agricultural systems, providing technical support to businesses, and promoting a financing model for a scalable transition.

“If the soil dies, our options to combat the climate crisis and species extinction will also reduce dramatically. Three-quarters of the world’s previously fertile soil has already been degraded, and around 12 million hectares – the area of arable land in Germany – is lost every year,” says Patrick Geiger, Hilcona’s Co-Director of Sustainability.