The irrigation plant of Talentis Agro Zrt., built with 1.7 billion forints, was handed over

The Talentis Agro Group, owned by the Mészáros group, farms almost 60,000 hectares, of which 48,000 hectares are arable land (Photo: AM/Csaba Pelsőczy)

István Nagy reminded that the call for proposals entitled “Development of the agricultural water management sector” has been available in the Rural Development Program for years, in which 988 applications have been supported so far, worth more than HUF 100 billion. The Minister of Agriculture announced that the introduction of water-saving irrigation technologies, the optimization of water use in irrigation systems, and the development and reconstruction of water-saving irrigation infrastructure will continue to be supported in the Strategic Plan of the Common Agricultural Policy. The maximum grant that can be given for one project is 15 million euros (roughly HUF 5.8 billion), with a grant intensity of 50 percent, which can be increased to 70 percent in certain cases – explained István Nagy. The head of the ministry said that more than HUF 1 billion of the 1.7 billion cost of the handed over irrigation plant was covered by government and EU support.

The Talentis Agro Group, owned by the Mészáros group, farms almost 60,000 hectares, of which 48,000 hectares are arable land

Lőrinc Mészáros, the owner of the Mészáros group, recalled in his welcome that the realization of the irrigation plant was the result of a long planning and construction process. He pointed out that since its establishment, Talentis Agro has spent almost HUF 6 billion on the construction of irrigation plants, and further irrigation development investments are also planned. He explained that the irrigated area of ​​the group currently exceeds 7,000 hectares. “Our goal is for 20 percent of our areas to be supplied with water, that is, we aim to reach an irrigated area of ​​over 9,000 hectares, all in the form of an irrigation community, which structure has proven to be efficient and effective so far,” emphasized Lőrinc Mészáros. Makai Szabolcs, CEO of Talentis Agro Zrt., stated that by organizing themselves into a community with local farmers, they can successfully participate in the implementation and operation of subsidized, European Union irrigation plants. He added that with the investment, they will be able to use irrigation farming in a water- and energy-efficient way. As he said, at the end of last year, the holding’s next 5-year strategy and its steps were determined, the essence of which is that in the medium term they want to maintain and strengthen their leading position in field crop production, according to which irrigation development will continue to play a prominent role in the future.

Talentis Agro Zrt. is a fully Hungarian-owned agricultural and food industry company group

Talentis Agro Zrt.’s portfolio includes a large number of long-standing agrarian companies with historical traditions, plants producing raw materials for the food industry and consumer goods. Their main profile is arable crop cultivation and animal husbandry. In addition to the needs of animal husbandry, a significant part of its crop production capacity is used for seed production and food industry processing. Their food industry sectors are the production of mill and bakery products, fruit processing, and winemaking. According to publicly available company data, the net sales of Talentis Agro Zrt. last year were HUF 2.1 billion, and the year before it was HUF 1.5 billion. The company closed with a profit of HUF 11.9 million in 2023, and HUF 90.5 million in 2022.

MTI