The support program for the smallest producers continues

Many rural families have continued or started agricultural production in recent years as a form of income supplement. The announcement of a new call for applications with a budget of 29.4 billion forints, co-financed by the European Union, aimed at strengthening small agricultural holdings, could be of particular help to them. The initiative, implemented within the framework of the CAP Strategic Plan, aims to support small-scale developments that will increase the income-generating capacity of the smallest farms, and may even allow them to set themselves a realistic goal of full-time commodity farming. The call provides an opportunity to build, expand, develop buildings and facilities related to animal husbandry, gardening, storage of field crops and processing of agricultural products, or to purchase important machines and equipment related to these activities. Illustrating some examples from practice, future winners can thus build a laying hen barn with support, purchase important equipment for keeping and feeding animals, acquire a small tractor or work machine related to gardening activities, but they also have the opportunity to install a plantation or put into operation the equipment necessary for the production of food from the processing of vegetables and fruits.

Within the framework of the call, those who already have a production activity but do not yet reach the minimum size of an agricultural producer’s farm can submit an application for support. This means that they have a farm with a standard production value of more than EUR 5,000 but less than EUR 10,000. Illustrating through practical examples, for example, a 2-hectare apple orchard costs approx. 7,700, potatoes planted on an area of ​​0.6 hectares cost approx. 5,800, 2 dairy cows cost 5,500, 30 female goats cost 5,200, and 60 bee colonies cost approximately 5,700 EUR STÉ. When calculating the farm size related to crop production, the data from the 2024 Single Application are taken into account in the spring submission stages, while in the case of livestock farming, the livestock according to the livestock register for the 12 months preceding the month of submission of the support application is the basis for calculating the farm size. The STÉ calculator on the website of the National Chamber of Agriculture provides assistance in determining the existing farm size of the farm.