While environmental and economic sustainability are often measured, the social side of farming is less well understood. This project, Development and Application of Indicators of Social Sustainability for Swiss Farms (DAISS), aims to close this gap.
The project will work closely with farmers and other relevant stakeholders to identify which social aspects matter most for sustainability assessment in Swiss agriculture. We will co-create a set of indicators that capture key elements like farmer wellbeing, workload, social relations, and innovation capacity. These indicators will be tested across different types of farms and regions to ensure they are reliable, meaningful, and easy to use and could be integrated into existing sustainability monitoring systems. We will also look to validate innovative approaches such as using public perceptions of farming as a proxy for social sustainability and examine links between social sustainability, animal welfare, and farmers’ acceptance of sustainability trade-offs. The outcome will be a validated set of social sustainability indicators tailored for Swiss farms, with clear guidelines for their use in practice and policy.