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Geographic indications for wine and uptake of fungi-resistant grapevine varieties
Grapevine production in Switzerland is economically and culturally highly relevant. At the same time, growing grapevines is pesticide-intensive. Fungi-resistant varieties are a major entry point to reduce pesticide treatments in vineyards. However, their use is limited. This thesis aims to explore whether geographic indications (e.g. AOC/DOC) influence the uptake decision of fungi-resistant grapevine varieties in Switzerland.
Keywords: Wine economics, fungi-resistant grapevines, PIWI, geographic indications, panel data
Grapevine production in Switzerland is economically and culturally relevant (Anderson et al., 2017; Brunner and Siegrist, 2011). At the same time, perennial grapevine production is highly susceptible to fungal infestations and ranks therefore high in the frequency and quantity of applied pesticide substances (de Baan et al., 2015). However, reducing negative externalities from pesticide use is at the top of agricultural policy (Möhring et al., 2020) and society (Finger, 2021). Fungi-resistant grapevines that are more resistant against fugal infestations and thus require substantially less plant protection are a major entry point to reduce risks resulting from pesticide applications in vineyards (Pertot et al., 2017). However, uptake rates remain low and are highly regionally clustered (Finger et al., n.d.). The uptake clustering raises the question what regionally-dependent factors are relevant for the planting decision. In this respect, Geographic Indications are relevant. The main purpose of Geographic Indications in wine is to connect the bottle of wine to a specific region’s wine culture through a label (e.g. AOC or DOC appellations). Eligible varieties for Geographic Indications in Switzerland are specified at the cantonal level and the eligibility of fungi-resistant varieties for GI varies considerably across the country. The aim of this master thesis is therefore to connect rich plantation data at the cantonal level from 1995 until 2020 with data on Geographic Indication eligibility of the varieties planted to answer the question what role Geographic Indications play for the uptake decision of fungi-resistant grapevines. The thesis will create a theoretical framework and literature overview on Geographic Indications and resistant varieties and especially conducts rich empirical analysis. The thesis contributes to a bigger project on pesticide reductions in Swiss agriculture https://aecp.ethz.ch/research/Sinergia1.html.
Grapevine production in Switzerland is economically and culturally relevant (Anderson et al., 2017; Brunner and Siegrist, 2011). At the same time, perennial grapevine production is highly susceptible to fungal infestations and ranks therefore high in the frequency and quantity of applied pesticide substances (de Baan et al., 2015). However, reducing negative externalities from pesticide use is at the top of agricultural policy (Möhring et al., 2020) and society (Finger, 2021). Fungi-resistant grapevines that are more resistant against fugal infestations and thus require substantially less plant protection are a major entry point to reduce risks resulting from pesticide applications in vineyards (Pertot et al., 2017). However, uptake rates remain low and are highly regionally clustered (Finger et al., n.d.). The uptake clustering raises the question what regionally-dependent factors are relevant for the planting decision. In this respect, Geographic Indications are relevant. The main purpose of Geographic Indications in wine is to connect the bottle of wine to a specific region’s wine culture through a label (e.g. AOC or DOC appellations). Eligible varieties for Geographic Indications in Switzerland are specified at the cantonal level and the eligibility of fungi-resistant varieties for GI varies considerably across the country. The aim of this master thesis is therefore to connect rich plantation data at the cantonal level from 1995 until 2020 with data on Geographic Indication eligibility of the varieties planted to answer the question what role Geographic Indications play for the uptake decision of fungi-resistant grapevines. The thesis will create a theoretical framework and literature overview on Geographic Indications and resistant varieties and especially conducts rich empirical analysis. The thesis contributes to a bigger project on pesticide reductions in Swiss agriculture https://aecp.ethz.ch/research/Sinergia1.html.
The goal of the master thesis is twofold: First, data is collected from existing sources (e.g. pdfs) and converted to machine-readable formats. Second, the effect of Geographic Indications on variety uptake is modelled in an econometric analysis, e.g. with a panel data approach.
**Literature**
Anderson, K., Nelgen, S., Pinilla, V., 2017. Global wine markets, 1860 to 2016: a statistical compendium. University of Adelaide Press. https://doi.org/10.20851/global-wine-markets
Brunner, T.A., Siegrist, M., 2011. Lifestyle determinants of wine consumption and spending on wine. Intl Jnl of Wine Business Res 23, 210–220. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511061111163041
de Baan, L., Spycher, S., Daniel, O., 2015. Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln in der Schweiz von 2009 bis 2012. Agrarforschung Schweiz 6, 48–55.
Finger, R., 2021. No pesticide-free Switzerland. Nat. Plants 7, 1324–1325. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01009-6
Finger, R., Zachmann, L., McCallum, C., n.d. The uptake of fungi-resistant grapevines and marketing channels in Switzerland.
Möhring, N., Ingold, K., Kudsk, P., Martin-Laurent, F., Niggli, U., Siegrist, M., Studer, B., Walter, A., Finger, R., 2020. Pathways for advancing pesticide policies. Nat Food 1, 535–540. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00141-4
Pertot, I., Caffi, T., Rossi, V., Mugnai, L., Hoffmann, C., Grando, M.S., Gary, C., Lafond, D., Duso, C., Thiery, D., Mazzoni, V., Anfora, G., 2017. A critical review of plant protection tools for reducing pesticide use on grapevine and new perspectives for the implementation of IPM in viticulture. Crop Protection 97, 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2016.11.025
The goal of the master thesis is twofold: First, data is collected from existing sources (e.g. pdfs) and converted to machine-readable formats. Second, the effect of Geographic Indications on variety uptake is modelled in an econometric analysis, e.g. with a panel data approach.
**Literature**
Anderson, K., Nelgen, S., Pinilla, V., 2017. Global wine markets, 1860 to 2016: a statistical compendium. University of Adelaide Press. https://doi.org/10.20851/global-wine-markets Brunner, T.A., Siegrist, M., 2011. Lifestyle determinants of wine consumption and spending on wine. Intl Jnl of Wine Business Res 23, 210–220. https://doi.org/10.1108/17511061111163041 de Baan, L., Spycher, S., Daniel, O., 2015. Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln in der Schweiz von 2009 bis 2012. Agrarforschung Schweiz 6, 48–55. Finger, R., 2021. No pesticide-free Switzerland. Nat. Plants 7, 1324–1325. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01009-6 Finger, R., Zachmann, L., McCallum, C., n.d. The uptake of fungi-resistant grapevines and marketing channels in Switzerland. Möhring, N., Ingold, K., Kudsk, P., Martin-Laurent, F., Niggli, U., Siegrist, M., Studer, B., Walter, A., Finger, R., 2020. Pathways for advancing pesticide policies. Nat Food 1, 535–540. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00141-4 Pertot, I., Caffi, T., Rossi, V., Mugnai, L., Hoffmann, C., Grando, M.S., Gary, C., Lafond, D., Duso, C., Thiery, D., Mazzoni, V., Anfora, G., 2017. A critical review of plant protection tools for reducing pesticide use on grapevine and new perspectives for the implementation of IPM in viticulture. Crop Protection 97, 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2016.11.025
Lucca Zachmann (lzachmann@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Lucca Zachmann (lzachmann@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)