Strengthening producer organizations is the key to the future of the horticulture sector

– The key issue for the future of the horticultural industry is to increase organization and efficiency. Thanks to the development programs, the support system and innovation, we have been taking steps to improve the organization for years, but there is still plenty to do in this area. After all, twenty years after our entry into the European Union, we have not reached the EU’s average integration level – stated Viktor Balázs, NAK’s national vice-president responsible for environmental sustainability and innovation, at the event organized by the chamber, “Producer organizations in the fruit and vegetable sector – Presentation of European and domestic good practices ” at the international conference. In his greeting, he drew attention to the fact that the current level of organization reflects the performance of the sector as a whole. Such concentration has taken place and is taking place on the domestic retail procurement side and on the export markets, with which individual actors can hardly or not at all gain a good negotiating position.

– It is important to move the sector out of this stalemate and steer it in a direction of development that is predestined by the past of our horticultural production. Cooperation with partner organizations and common thinking are essential for this – the vice-president emphasized. The NAK – together with its partner organizations – considers it an important mission to improve the perception of producer cooperation and strengthen the trust of producers. This is also extremely important because the EU wants to implement the support of the fruit and vegetable sector through producer organizations, by financing their operational program. The available support sources can also be used best when the level of organization in the sector increases.

Elli Tsiforou, Secretary General of Copa-Cogeca (the largest European representation of producers and cooperatives), greeted the participants in a video message. He highlighted: cooperatives are of fundamental importance for European agriculture; they also have a prominent role in sustainability, as well as from an economic, social and social point of view. – Further collaborations should be encouraged.