Germany: Agroscope wants to save 20 percent in operating costs

At its meeting of 9 March 2018, the Federal Council was informed of the state of the preparatory work it had commissioned to strengthen the scientific contribution of Agroscope and to rationalize the functioning and services of that institution. This is to complete a transformation process that began more than ten years ago. In addition, Agroscope should now be able to concentrate more on its core task of being a specialized agricultural research institute. This project is part of a series of structural reforms that the Federal Council has commissioned to improve the efficiency of the federal administration and to be able to be more frugal with the financial resources of the federal government. The Federal Council will come to a decision in the summer of 2018.

Markus Kellerhals of the research group Agroscope at the recent Obstbaumesse Fruchtwelt Bodensee

Swiss agriculture faces economic and environmental developments that require professional scientific research as a response. A review of Agroscope's research and services portfolio will determine which services can be provided by third parties and which should be among Agroscope's priorities in the future. In addition to this, international cooperation is to be strengthened in order to promote scientific exchange and to update regularly.

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Today, operating costs of Agroscope amount to 40 percent of the budget. It is important to reduce these costs to strengthen research for the benefit of third parties and the federal administration, as well as to assist the authorities. In order to achieve this goal and to promote the sense of community within the institution, a geographic concentration is planned at the Posieux (FR) site, with various experimental stations.

The aim is to reach savings of 20 percent within Agroscope's budget. These savings are to be realized above all in the operating costs, which among other things will lead to a reduction of the number of jobs. Natural staff turnover, a long period of more than ten years for the implementation and the creation of new activities thanks to additional third-party funding should contribute to make these reforms socially acceptable. In addition, the necessary investments are to be made to equip Agroscope with a modern research infrastructure that is suited to its tasks.

Source: blw