Hungarian agricultural subsidies will continue to be predictable in the future

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The minister pointed out that it is clear from the processes taking place in the world that this year will not be easy in agriculture either. In 2022, in addition to the devastation of the historic drought, the consequences of the failed Brussels sanctions in response to the Russian-Ukrainian war appeared in the form of high energy and fertilizer prices and a strained financing environment. The head of the ministry emphasized that the agricultural administration knows and is aware of the farmers’ problems, but we can overcome the difficulties together. According to István Nagy, despite all the difficulties, it is a particularly outstanding result that Hungarian agriculture ensured the supply of high-quality, safe food to the population last year, while agricultural exports were also able to grow.

A favorable agreement was reached

The great success of the year 2022 is that on November 7, the European Commission adopted the Strategic Plan of Hungary’s Common Agricultural Policy, which represents a historic opportunity for the Hungarian countryside and agriculture. A favorable agreement was reached on EU agricultural and rural development subsidies for Hungary in the period up to 2027, the EU funds, together with the outstanding national budget contribution, mean more help than ever before for rural development, farmers and food processors. He added that the budget for the upcoming agricultural support cycle and the size of the resources that can be used are a total of 14.7 billion euros. From the point of view of the development after the current more difficult period and the future, the developments implemented or still in progress with the resources of the Rural Development Program, which make the farms more efficient and resilient in dealing with production difficulties, emphasized István Nagy. As an example, he mentioned that HUF 400 billion were paid out to those affected from the resources of the Rural Development Program last year alone.

The head of the ministry drew attention to the fact that the most important management task in the first months of 2023 is to learn about and apply the conditions of the new agricultural support system

It is important for farmers to prepare for the submission of the unified application in the spring, and the department helps them with this. The leaders and experts of the Ministry of Agriculture and the National Chamber of Agrarian Economy will hold informative forums for this purpose throughout the country from the end of 2022, and the roadshow will continue this year as well. They comprehensively present the basics of the KAP Strategy Plan, the main criteria for the use of subsidies and the most important tasks. In addition, a separate website on agricultural subsidies is being prepared, where all information will be available, István Nagy added. Attention should be drawn to the fact that the central and comprehensive goal of the Hungarian Strategic Plan is small and medium-sized economies and their further strengthening. This is indicated by the introduction of redistributive support, special support for small-scale developments to be implemented by them, as well as a stronger incentive for producer cooperation Farmers can count on the Hungarian government in 2023 as well, together we will take up the fight against the release of production costs and market uncertainties – emphasized the Ministry of Agriculture its leader.

AM