Sándor Farkas: many unpredictable factors can affect the food supply

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 08. 12. 11:03

Following the questions of Ágnes Vadai, the member of parliament, Sándor Farkas, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, informed the public about the expected loss of agricultural crops and damages due to the 2024 drought. The state secretary emphasized that the summer harvest is over, but during the remaining period until the autumn harvest, many unforeseen factors can affect the agricultural results.

About 46,000 agricultural areas were notified of drought damage for the damage mitigation year of 2024 on the electronic damage reporting interface of the Hungarian Treasury. This year, the planting areas mostly decreased compared to previous years, and the yields also remained at an average level, except for rapeseed, which was particularly severely affected by the weather last fall and this year.

Wheat: This year’s harvest was nearly 5 million tons.
Autumn barley: The total harvest was close to 1.5 million tons.
Summer cereals (spring barley, rye, oats, triticale): They produced close to average results.
Rapeseed: Due to the decrease in yield, the harvest was around 433 thousand tons.

The yields of autumn-harvested crops may still change, but according to the latest data, the yields for corn and sunflower have decreased compared to previous forecasts:

Maize: The yield per hectare changed to 6.77 tons from the previous 7.47 tons/hectare.
Sunflower: The yield decreased to 2.73 tons compared to the previous forecast of 3.01 tons/hectare.

The damage caused by the drought has a significant impact on Hungarian agriculture, especially through the reduction of the yield. Although the summer harvest is over, the autumn period can still bring significant changes in crop prospects. The Ministry of Agriculture continues to monitor the situation in order to find the most effective solutions to support the affected farmers and stabilize production.