The competitiveness of paprika cultivation also depends on the innovation of technology

By: STA Date: 2022. 09. 09. 08:42

The past, present and expected future of paprika were discussed at the Agrár Hungarikum round table discussion in Kalocsá, XXXI. At a professional forum organized as part of the Paprika and Gastro Festival, the Ministry of Agriculture (AM) told MTI on Friday.

Hungarian paprika is a well-known and recognized spice all over the world (Photo: Pixabay)

The event was attended by Zsolt Feldman, the Ministry’s Secretary of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, who informed the interested local and surrounding farmers that several special subsidies for hot pepper production have been launched in recent years. As an example, he mentioned the support for alleviating the seed and drying costs associated with hot peppers, as well as the fact that, since 2015, hot pepper growers can also participate in the support linked to production. Of greater importance are the development tenders for the horticultural sector – in which around 150 billion forints worth of supporting decisions were made in the past year and a half – as they are the means by which the technological renewal of production can be realized. At the same time, the state secretary considered it most important that the players in the hot pepper sector can meet the changed sales opportunities and customer habits, they wrote. Those present agreed that breed breeding, research, and technology change are needed to achieve higher yields and economic production. In addition, the paprika industry has to deal with labor shortages and imports from time to time.

The basis of competitiveness in this sector is technological change, technological renewal, which, according to Csaba Gyuricza, rector of the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, will be solved by generational change. The supply is assured, and MATE annually graduates two thousand agricultural professionals with marketable knowledge – the announcement reads.

MTI