Vol. 15 No. 1 (2026)
Short Communications

Public information instead of vertical integration – Exploring “recommended variety lists” in the Swiss maize seed market

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  • Stefan Mann,
  • Mauricio Benincore,
  • Jürg Hiltbrunner
Stefan Mann
Agroscope Tänikon 1, 8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland
Mauricio Benincore
Agroscope Tänikon 1, 8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland
Jürg Hiltbrunner
Agroscope Tänikon 1, 8356 Ettenhausen, Switzerland
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36253/bae-16762

Published 2025-09-16

Keywords

  • institutional economics,
  • information economics,
  • seed,
  • maize,
  • governance

How to Cite

Mann, S., Benincore, M., & Hiltbrunner, J. (2025). Public information instead of vertical integration – Exploring “recommended variety lists” in the Swiss maize seed market . Bio-Based and Applied Economics, 15(1), 77–85. https://doi.org/10.36253/bae-16762

Copyright (c) 2026 Stefan Mann, Mauricio Benincore, Jürg Hiltbrunner

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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Abstract

Institutional economists have suggested vertical integration as a solution in cases of high asset specificity, frequency, and uncertainty. Although asset specificity and uncertainty are major issues in the seed market, vertical integration is not an option because farmers and breeders work by different organizational patterns. This study hypothesises that the public provision of information can be an alternative to vertical integration and illustrates this with the “list of recommended maize varieties” in Switzerland issued in a private-public partnership based on data generated by the public administration. A survey of maize growers and contractors shows that contractors and farmers in regions ideal for maize production rely strongly on these lists. For users who rely less on maize production, past experience is the most important guide for the choice of variety. It can be concluded that this intervention in the market generates value added for farmers and saves transaction costs.

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