Agroscope opens its new CHF 125 million laboratory in Fribourg

On 14 August 2026, the canton of Fribourg officially handed over to the Confederation the keys to the new laboratory building of Agroscope in Posieux. Swiss President Guy Parmelin attended the ceremony alongside delegations from the Fribourg State Council, Agroscope’s management and the Federal Offices for Agriculture and for Buildings and Logistics. The canton built the facility on land owned by the Confederation, which will initially lease it before acquiring full ownership at the expiry of the building-rights contract.

Of the building’s 11,000 square meters of usable space, some 7,700 are devoted to highly specialized laboratories and 3,300 to advanced technical installations for agronomic research. The facility houses chemical and biological analysis laboratories, an experimental cheese dairy, biotechnology installations and a comprehensive energy and digital infrastructure. Designed to the Minergie-P standard and to Swiss sustainable construction principles, it features a roof largely covered with photovoltaic panels. Construction costs amount to approximately CHF 125 million.

The handover marks a milestone in Agroscope’s site strategy. Concentrating a large share of laboratory activities and research technologies in Posieux allows the federal center to reduce the operating and maintenance costs of its laboratory infrastructure. Once all relocations from its various sites are complete, including into the administrative building still to be renovated, around 420 Agroscope employees will work at Posieux.

The concentration also reinforces the position of the canton of Fribourg as a national center for agriculture and the food sector, through the proximity of two institutions: Grangeneuve, run by the canton, and Agroscope, run by the Confederation. Staff will move into the new premises progressively from the end of August 2026.