AM: One of Hungary’s greatest strategic assets is good-quality fertile soil

One of Hungary’s greatest strategic assets is good-quality fertile soil – the Ministry of Agriculture (AM) told MTI on last Friday.

(Photo: Pixabay)

The United Nations (UN) declared December 5th as World Soil Day in 2013. In this spirit, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Hungarian Soil Science Society once again organized the now traditional Soil of the Year conference, for which the Hungarian Agricultural Museum provided a worthy venue. The announcement quoted Balázs Szabó, Deputy State Secretary for Agricultural Economy of the AM, who emphasized in his opening speech that one of Hungary’s greatest strategic assets is good-quality fertile soil, and careful attention to its preservation and maintenance is particularly important. Land is the most basic factor of production, as 95 percent of the world’s food is provided directly or indirectly by soil. At the same time, due to the degradation processes experienced worldwide, such as erosion, deflation, salinization, compaction and acidification, soils are at serious risk. A key issue is a change in attitude and the dissemination of soil-friendly, protective and regenerating practices in farming. He added that this year’s conference – the preparation and implementation of which the National CAP Network was also actively involved – shed light on the problem of soil contamination on the one hand and soil cover on the other, the latter of which means the increasing construction and covering of our soils with paving. Recently, urban and peri-urban soils have been gaining an increasingly prominent role in Europe as a kind of “hidden agricultural reserves”, since soils of exceptionally good quality are often found around large cities. Their professional rehabilitation can greatly contribute to the growth and spread of peri-urban food production, community gardens and green spaces.

The event presented a number of innovative knowledge and practical ideas

These can be used effectively to improve the health of our soils, so they can be of great use to both the scientific profession and farmers. According to the statement, Olga Beáta Felkai, Deputy State Secretary for the Food Chain at the Ministry of Agriculture, said that last year’s experiences and the current EU and domestic legislative environment clearly show that soil as a natural resource is extremely vulnerable, and its renewal can only be ensured through conscious intervention. She emphasized that the European Union has a soil improvement strategy until 2030, which is also crucial because intervention is already essential for 60-70 percent of EU farmland in order to be able to produce in adequate quality, and thus guarantee food safety and nutrition security. The Deputy Secretary of State also drew attention to the fact that the legal and professional frameworks are still being continuously developed: the Nitrate Regulation and the Agricultural Land Protection Act have been amended, and farmers must draw up a soil protection action plan. He highlighted that several coordinated measures can jointly improve the condition and regeneration of soils. The temporary chamber exhibition opening as part of the conference will present a detailed presentation of the soil profile monoliths that received the Soil of the Year award and the Hungarian soil profile from Püspökladány, which was elected the World Soil of the Year in 2025 by the International Soil Science Society (IUSS), – reads the AM statement.

MTI