Ökonomische Gesellschaft des Kantons Bern

The Ökonomische Gesellschaft des Kantons Bern (also known as Ökonomische Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft Bern, or OGG Bern) is a Swiss non-profit association founded in 1759 and headquartered in Zollikofen in the canton of Bern. It is one of Europe's oldest continuously operating economic-patriotic reform societies, established during the eighteenth-century wave of societies dedicated to 'useful knowledge' and agricultural improvement. Its founding was initiated by the Bernese patrician and Chorgerichtsschreiber Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli, who in November 1758 called for a prize for the best essay on improving agriculture and grain cultivation. Fifty-nine subscribers, mostly from the Bernese patriciate, pledged prize money, and in January 1759 the Ökonomische Gesellschaft was formally constituted. For more than 260 years the OGG has worked at the intersection of agriculture, education, economy and ecology. In its early decades it functioned as a reform society, using prize competitions to stimulate interest in agricultural questions and promoting innovations such as the cultivation of clover-like fodder plants and summer stabling to produce manure. It became a model for other economic-patriotic societies across Europe. In the nineteenth century it transformed from an exclusive circle of urban patricians and selected clergymen into a broadly based bourgeois-peasant agricultural association. From 1846 it published the 'Wochenblatt für Landwirtschaft und Gartenbau', which was renamed 'Schweizer Bauer' fifty years later. In 1860 it initiated the Rütti agricultural school, and it went on to found or inspire various agricultural educational institutions. Today the OGG describes itself as a non-profit association dedicated primarily to the development of a sustainable food system. Its projects span education, nutrition, soil, diversity and social affairs, with the stated aim of ensuring that all people have fair opportunities for participation and personal development. Its current activities include foodwaste.ch, which produces teaching materials on food waste, and Weltacker Bern, an educational project on global arable land that celebrated its sixth harvest season in 2026. The association is based at Rütti 5 in Zollikofen and maintains a newsletter, a board (Vorstand), a members' assembly, statutes, and working groups such as the Agricultural Employees working group and the Agricultural Technology Commission. It also has subsidiary companies and holdings. The OGG remains a membership-based, non-profit organization rather than a commercial enterprise, but it operates as a distinct institutional brand in Swiss civil society and agricultural education.

The Ökonomische Gesellschaft des Kantons Bern (OGG) was founded in January 1759, during the so-called Sattelzeit (1750–1850), a period when European states began to develop the capacity to initiate long-term economic growth. The binding of science to politics and economy was central to this process, and economic-patriotic societies—a subgroup of learned societies—served as institutional vessels for producing 'useful knowledge' aimed at economic and social reform. The Bernese society was among the pioneers of this movement, alongside earlier foundations in Edinburgh (1723), Dublin (1731), London (1754) and Rennes (1757). The immediate trigger for its creation was an initiative by Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli, a Bernese patrician and Chorgerichtsschreiber. In November 1758 he called for the establishment of a prize for the best treatise on improving agriculture and grain cultivation. His appeal attracted an unexpectedly large response: 59 people, mostly from the Bernese patriciate, agreed to pay a so-called subscription or prize fee. Tschiffeli was supported by six other men, including Samuel Engel, Gabriel Herport (1705–1783), Niklaus Emanuel von Diesbach (1692–1772), Sigmund Friedrich König (1712–1765), Franz Jakob von Tavel (1729–1798) and Niklaus Emanuel Tscharner. These men formed the core of the Ökonomische Gesellschaft, which was founded in January 1759 to pursue the issues raised by the prize competition in a more permanent association. Its primary purpose was the promotion of agriculture, though it also addressed broader themes. The society's statutes of 1762 formulated its aims: to improve agriculture, the food supply and commerce—that is, to increase the yield of the land, improve the processing of domestic goods, and facilitate their distribution. The supreme goal was to increase the productivity of the soil, and the innovations it propagated covered all areas of agriculture, from arable farming and livestock breeding to silk production. It also paid attention to crafts and industry. The society sought to base its work on a scientific foundation, formulating an extensive catalogue of questions and supporting early statistical surveys (so-called topographical descriptions) to document the state of agriculture and trade in the Bernese territory. In the eighteenth century the society was structured in several tiers. The 'Grosse Gesellschaft' (Great Society) was a kind of general assembly that met once a year in a solemn public framework and awarded the prizes for the advertised questions, but was otherwise primarily representative. Admission to the Great Society required, except for 'Standesglieder' (members of the Great or Small Council), a probationary essay demonstrating knowledge. Alongside it stood the 'mittlere' or 'engere' Gesellschaft (middle or narrower society), which normally met monthly between December and May. It was considered the actual Ökonomische Gesellschaft, deciding on new members, on the announcement and awarding of prize questions, issuing the statutes (the so-called laws), administering funds and conducting correspondence. Its president was also president of the Great Society. From the middle society was formed the 'kleine' or 'arbeitende' Gesellschaft (small or working society) or commission, which constituted the board. Its tasks included all the society's activities, which it prepared in weekly meetings in winter and monthly meetings in summer: drafting prize questions, pre-discussing submitted papers, writing expert opinions and printing the society's writings. All deliberations and decisions of the Ökonomische Gesellschaft required a prior judgment of the working commission, which had its own president and vice-president, and included the two secretaries and the treasurer (Seckelmeister) of the middle society. This structure persisted until 1768, after which it eroded and gave way to a two-tier system of board and general assembly, as the narrower society merged with the working commission. The Great Society took over from the middle society the competence to approve accounts and elect its own president. In its first years the society developed extensive activity. In Bern, ordinary members such as Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli and others engaged in agricultural experiments and reform projects. Through prize competitions it stimulated interest in agricultural questions, and its most important measures included the cultivation of clover-like fodder plants and summer stabling to produce manure. It quickly became a model for other economic-patriotic reform societies, many of which soon disappeared. In the nineteenth century the OG evolved from an exclusive circle of urban patricians and selected clergymen into a socially much broader bourgeois-peasant agricultural association. Topics included the use of machines in the fields and the social concerns of maids and servants. To provide farmers with relevant information, from 1846 the OG published the 'Wochenblatt für Landwirtschaft und Gartenbau' (Weekly Paper for Agriculture and Horticulture), which was renamed 'Schweizer Bauer' fifty years later. In 1860 it initiated the Rütti agricultural school, and it was the initiator of agricultural educational institutions and a social coordination body. Over more than 260 years, the OGG has been midwife to three agricultural revolutions and has repeatedly transformed itself, which its website credits for its continued commitment to people and nutrition. In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries the OGG continued to adapt. It is now a non-profit association dedicated primarily to the development of a sustainable food system, with projects in education, nutrition, soil, diversity and social affairs. Its current initiatives include foodwaste.ch, which produces teaching materials on food waste, and Weltacker Bern, an educational project on global arable land. It also runs the Stiftsgarten biodiversity project. The association is based at Rütti 5 in Zollikofen and maintains a board, a members' assembly, statutes, a newsletter, and working groups such as the Agricultural Employees working group and the Agricultural Technology Commission. It has subsidiary companies and holdings. The OGG remains a membership-based non-profit organization, but its long history and institutional presence make it a distinct brand in Swiss civil society and agricultural education.

• 2026

  Weltacker Bern celebrates its sixth harvest season; foodwaste.ch publishes new teaching materials.

• 1896

  The 'Wochenblatt für Landwirtschaft und Gartenbau' is renamed 'Schweizer Bauer' (fifty years after 1846).

• 1860

  The OG initiates the Rütti agricultural school.

• 1846

  The OG begins publishing the 'Wochenblatt für Landwirtschaft und Gartenbau'.

• 1768

  The three-tier structure erodes and gives way to a two-tier system of board and general assembly.

• 1762

  The society's statutes formulate its aims: to improve agriculture, food supply and commerce.

• 1759

  The Ökonomische Gesellschaft is founded in January in Bern.

• 1758

  Johann Rudolf Tschiffeli calls for a prize for the best essay on improving agriculture and grain cultivation; 59 subscribers pledge prize money.

A historic Swiss non-profit association and reform society that today positions itself as a promoter of sustainable food systems, education and social participation.

• foodwaste.ch

  A project producing teaching materials and information on food waste, including materials for the National Week against Food Waste.

• Weltacker Bern

  An educational project on global arable land that celebrated its sixth harvest season in 2026.

• Stiftsgarten biodiversity project

  A biodiversity project advised by conservation biologist Yasemin Kurtogullari, offering guided tours.

1. 1Im Zentrum steht der gesunde und zufriedene Mensch | OGG Bernogg.ch
2. 2Geschichte | OGG Bernogg.ch
3. 3Jobs | OGG Bernogg.ch
4. 4Verein | OGG Bernogg.ch
5. 5Ökonomische Gesellschaft des Kantons Bern – Wikidatawikidata.org
6. 6Ökonomische und Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft des Kantons Bern OGG – Wikipediade.wikipedia.org