Short supply chains and the adoption of fungus-resistant grapevine varieties

Abstract

Using fungus-resistant grapevine varieties can reduce pesticide use substantially, while maintaining production quantity and quality. Using survey data from 775 producers in Switzerland, we investigate the adoption of fungus-resistant varieties and especially analyze the relevance of marketing channels and short supply chains. We find that 20.1% of respondents use fungus-resistant varieties but the acreage is only 1.2%. Our results narrow down to a simple conclusion: the less distant the producer is from the final consumer, the more likely they use fungus-resistant varieties. For example, producers selling their wine mainly via direct marketing have a higher (8%–38%) uptake of fungus-resistant varieties.