Food production cannot be successful without adaptation, development and innovation

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The applications for the new KAP Strategic Plan (KAP ST) have received greater interest than expected, and most of the calls opened so far have received significant oversubscription – it was revealed at the joint department meeting entitled “Support and Sustainability in Agriculture” organized by the national agricultural departments of the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK). Tibor Zászlós, the National Vice President of NAK responsible for agriculture, said: the submission period for food industry and animal husbandry applications has passed, and in recent months applications have been received for a much higher amount than the announced budget. For the animal husbandry call alone, farmers have requested support worth around 700 billion forints. According to the Vice President, this means that farmers have recognized that despite the difficult economic conditions and hectic market movements, they can only move forward with developments and innovation and gain an advantage in the market. In the case of animal husbandry, the farms being built now represent the most modern technology. We have had many difficult years behind us, but we must preserve the results achieved through hard work, he pointed out. Gergely Papp, the NAK’s Deputy Director General, said: last year, our country paid out around 1,400 billion forints in support to farmers, and this year – in the advance payment period that began on October 16 – the amount paid pro rata significantly exceeds the value of the previous year. In his presentation, he drew the participants’ attention to the changes in the so-called first pillar of the new KAP, and provided information about the applications that have already been published and those expected in the coming months.

One such call is the Agri-Environmental Management Programme (AKG), for which producers can submit support applications from November 25

In order for farmers to make a responsible decision and choose the most ideal scheme for them and participate in the programme, NAK has prepared the AKG publication, which is available to anyone online and summarizes all the information necessary to join the AKG programme. In addition, the chamber has organized a special training course for rural economists, as the task of the experts will be to inform producers about the opportunities offered by the AKG and help them choose the most ideal scheme for the given producer. It is important, emphasized Gergely Papp, that farmers should not only see the additional income in the application, but also be aware of the obligations undertaken, the restrictions and, if applicable, the level of sanctions for non-compliance with the commitments.

Similar to the AKG, the call for proposals to support organic production (ÖKO) will soon open, for which the NAK has also prepared a publication.

– It is a huge achievement that 1.5 million hectares are now affected by either the AKG or ÖKO program. The aim of the current call is to maintain this scale, added the deputy director general. The AKG and ÖKO programs are also given a prominent role in the special issue of NAKlap, which was recently published in almost 320 thousand copies. The issue, which is specifically dedicated to rural development tenders, was compiled by the chamber’s experts in such a way that the QR code at the end of the articles leads readers to a detailed article, publication or tender call on the topic. Gergely Papp indicated that almost 50 tender calls are expected to be published next year, among which he highlighted the tender to encourage digital transition, which affects most agricultural sectors, as well as forestry calls, calls for the construction of crop storage facilities and crop dryers. The tender for young farmers and the tender to encourage farm transfers are expected to be published in the second half of the year. Norbert Potori, director of agricultural economics at the Institute of Agricultural Economics, gave a presentation on current events in the grain market and future prospects. The expert said that at the beginning of next year there will certainly be a change in the global wheat market, due to the scarcity of stocks, factors hindering autumn sowing, and the planned and partially implemented export restrictions on the Russian and Ukrainian markets, a demand market may develop, which will drive prices up.

The combined class session ended with a roundtable discussion, where in addition to subsidies, the topic of sustainability also came up

Gergely Papp, the moderator of the discussion, said: The chamber is open to any dialogue regarding sustainability, but the solution to this issue cannot be to reduce production. – The coming decades hold serious challenges for EU agricultural producers. The European Union must not be allowed to rely on imports by reducing its food production – food security must continue to be maintained – he pointed out. According to Tamás Petőházi, head of the National Department of Arable Crop Production and Supply Industry of the NAK, while there was a grace period in arable crop production before 2022, the drought in 2022 shook the sector very much. – We must learn to adapt to accelerated climate change, learning from international examples. The exposure is much greater, instead of profit maximization, the emphasis should be on crop safety, which may even require a change in technology, he noted. Zsombor Wagenhoffer, head of the National Department of Animal Husbandry and Supply Industry of the NAK, also sees the solution in adaptation. In his opinion, although the animal product sector has been subjected to many unscrupulous attacks in recent years – mainly from green organizations – this period is already coming to an end. More and more people are returning to normality. Imre Csizmadi, head of the NAK Horticulture and Supply Industry Department, touched on the severe labor shortage prevailing in the sector. According to him, artificial intelligence and robotics could be the solution to this problem within a few years. The marketability of Hungarian products – in the absence of protective tariffs – can be improved by strengthening consumer awareness. Hungarian consumers should be encouraged to choose domestically produced goods, as this will support Hungarian farmers and ultimately the maintenance of our country’s food security.

NAK