The village farmer network has been serving farmers for thirty years

Even in the previous century, the tasks of the village farmer were performed by several organizations operating in different forms, but this system collapsed in 1948 as a result of the socialist reorganization of agriculture. After the change of regime, with the emergence of private farms, it became necessary to establish an organization that helps both farmers and government management. On March 1, 1994, the government of the time reestablished the network of village farmers – within the framework of the county offices of the Ministry of Agriculture – whose basic purpose was to support farmers who acquired land as part of privatization. From 1995, the village farmers belonged to the Chamber of Agriculture, from 1999 they returned to the ministry, and from 2007 to the Agricultural Administration Office. In connection with joining the EU, the activities of village farmers have also changed, as their most important task has become facilitating producers’ access to subsidies. The 20th anniversary of the network’s existence brought a major change in the lives of the village farmers, as according to the agreement made by the National Chamber of Agrarian Economy and the government, on January 1, 2014, the village farmers returned to where they belong, to the Chamber. Due to the new Common Agricultural Policy launched last year and the ever-tightening EU regulations, as well as the expansion of tender opportunities, it was necessary for the village farmers to help the farmers with a larger number of staff and an expanded scope of tasks. Thanks to this year’s increase in staff, the 30-year-old network of village farmers now supports the lives of agricultural producers with 700 people and a constantly expanding range of services. Every year, seven out of ten uniform applications are submitted by the farmers with the help of the Chamber’s village farmers, so in the last 10 years they have cooperated in drawing more than HUF 1,500 billion in subsidies. The submission period for this year’s uniform applications started on April 10, within which it was possible to apply for support for 44 support titles and measures, and to fulfill the obligation to provide data. By the deadline of June 10, 2024, 159,551 applications were submitted to the Hungarian State Treasury, about two-thirds of which, 104,477, were submitted by farmers with the help of NAK village managers.

In addition, they help farmers with countless other administrative tasks

The village farmers perform tasks related to NAK’s official duties, administration related to the use of agricultural and rural development subsidies, and agricultural damage events related to agricultural damage mitigation subsidies. Last year, the village farmers helped with the official administration of 55,058 primary producers, 9,704 primary producer family farms, and 63 family agricultural companies, and they also participated in 1,541 field guard services and 7,000 official procedures related to document authentication. In addition, they collect the data necessary for crop estimation and condition rating, and help in the assessment of weather damage events. Starting this year, the expanded network of village farmers helps with the management of the management diary, as well as the administration related to animal and area-based subsidies and tenders (agri-environmental management, ecological management, Natura 2000 grassland and forest). In addition to the submission of uniform requests, if the farmer requests it, they manage the tasks related to it, such as Territorial Monitoring System (TMR) orders sent following the conciliation or satellite inspection. The village farmers provide detailed information about rural development applications, and based on the characteristics of farming, they explain the possibilities and tasks to those preparing to apply in a personalized manner. They direct farmers’ attention to current professional issues, innovative solutions, and the challenges associated with climate change, so that they consciously apply sustainable farming models. Before the opening of the Agro-ecology Program, the so-called We prepared a green offer, which our Village Managers delivered to the farmers, thereby helping them to choose practices.

NAK