Don't fancy a one-franc house? Maybe a one-franc vineyard is more to your taste! That’s what farmers are hoping for in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The region's grape growers are looking to sell off some of their plots, after decades of laborious work tending to the vines - the only problem being: nobody wants to buy them.
The municipality of Savièse has decided to encourage the "one-franc vineyard" scheme to uphold the region's traditions. Generations of farmers have tended the area’s vineyards, but in recent decades, the yields have been too small for the amount of work required. This is why so many of the farmers are looking to sell their land.
The municipal government understands the farmers’ concerns, but does not want to see the land go to waste. The municipality is also concerned about the future landscape of the wine region. This makes the one-franc sales a perfect solution to keep the region’s history and landscape alive.
While the cost of the vineyard plots themselves are set at one Swiss franc, there are some associated administrative costs, taxes, and fees such as notarial costs that are expected to be around 200 Swiss francs, with land registry costs also collected by the canton as part of the sale. Farmers hope that the one-franc scheme will help them to sell plots of land that have previously proven difficult to offload.
Buyers of the land will have to participate in the cultivation of their vine fields, so the municipality believes that the scheme could be a way to keep vineyards across the entire canton well-maintained. The canton of Valais’ vineyards consists of a total of 75.000 plots, which need many farmers and owners to maintain.