State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture: the Ministry of Agriculture plans to publish several new tenders this year

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The State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture (MA) responsible for agricultural and rural development subsidies announced that horticulture and damage mitigation are considered of paramount importance in the coming period, and significant amounts will be allocated to encourage young farmers, infrastructure development, and agricultural cooperation. The development investments in agriculture and the processing industry received more than 730 billion forints last year, and the amount could exceed 1,000 billion forints if the payments in the first quarter of this year are included. He added that last year the Ministry of Agriculture received almost 80,000 support applications for 30 applications, farmers received more than 1,500 billion forints in support, and loan moratoriums and crisis support also helped them a lot in overcoming the challenges. Thanks to the resources, agriculture in Hungary “clearly set out on a development path”, food security and food sovereignty were strengthened. The tender background continues to be a stable support for producers, who trust in government measures based on the tender interest, he said.

According to József Viski, developments are particularly needed today, as this means moving forward towards the future

Hungary has everything for 21st century production and modern precision farming, but in the midst of epidemics threatening plants and animals, weather extremes and market fluctuations, modern technologies are indispensable. This is why the government firmly stands in favor of the two-pillar EU agricultural policy, i.e. one that also includes development funds, and also condemns free trade agreements that threaten Hungarian interests – said the state secretary, who is confident that the farmer protests will have an effect and that the “European Commission” will make a “favorable decision” as a result of them. According to the president of the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK), 2026 will be a difficult year, as in addition to the constant challenges of agriculture, we must also face the fact that the decisions in Brussels endanger the future of European agriculture. Farmers have the knowledge to produce the food they need, but they need support to be able to produce sustainably – said Zsolt György Papp. The rector of the Hungarian University of Agricultural and Food Sciences (MATE) believes that Hungarian agriculture is no longer drifting, but is staying on course, but if it wants to remain competitive, it must focus on knowledge-based operations. The biggest question is no longer whether there is land and machinery, but whether it can be associated with future-proof knowledge – said Csaba Gyuricza, who believes that “people shape technology into value with their expertise”, which is why the development of intellectual resources is the most important, starting from vocational training through higher education to practical application. Gábor Ganczer, CEO of Hungexpo, sees the significance of Agromashexpo in that it shows business opportunities to participants beyond the professional review, thus facilitating the creation of new decisions and partnerships. Market conditions and weather conditions are not forgiving, so only those who think in terms of systems and recognize that a modern machine is not only steel, but also software, sensors, data providers and networks can be successful in agriculture, he added. Representing the exhibition organizers, the president of the National Association of Agricultural Equipment and Machinery Distributors (MEGFOSz) highlighted that their event is among the first to present the latest developments in Europe. Zsolt Harsányi added that in order to encourage training for new employees, 3,500 students are offered free entry and travel support.

MTI