The amount of the compensation fund has been increased

(Photo: AM)

He explained that the year 2025 put Hungarian agriculture to the test, and it had to deal with various blows, such as plant and animal diseases, early spring frosts, and drought. Farmers can count on the government in this situation as well – he stated. According to the minister, compensation for farmers for damages caused by weather will begin in mid-March, thanks to the increased amount, all approved claims for c ompensation will be settled by the end of March, and the Hungarian State Treasury will allocate the money to the farmers who suffered the damage by the end of March. In his presentation, István Nagy said that the commitment of economic development and investment support within the framework of the CAP Strategic Plan will exceed 1,000 billion forints by the end of March, this capital injection is the guarantee that Hungarian agriculture and the countryside will develop. The head of the ministry emphasized that agricultural and rural development payments exceeded all previous expectations, a total of 1,509 billion forints reached farmers. This amount was able to reach its destination because the support system worked more efficiently and faster than ever before, he said. István Nagy highlighted that Hungary closed the Rural Development Program at the end of 2025 without any loss of resources, the program mobilized a total of almost 3,000 billion forints, and almost 400,000 projects were implemented throughout the country. The Minister of Agriculture emphasized that a new era began with the CAP Strategic Plan. The new cycle has already started, with an even larger budget of more than HUF 3,150 billion available in the second pillar supporting agricultural and rural development. More than half of this will be spent directly on economic development. Implementation is progressing well, with 65 calls for proposals published by the end of February, worth more than HUF 1,700 billion.

104,000 applications have already been approved so far

According to him, the largest-scale developments are taking place at processing plants. So far, more than 300 large-scale investments have been approved, worth a total of HUF 451 billion, and among applicants planning smaller and medium-sized developments, more than 600 plants can be developed, with almost HUF 40 billion. More than 1,000 farms across the country have received support for the renovation of livestock farms, totaling about 68 billion forints, and horticultural farms have already been awarded more than 72 billion forints for the development of modern greenhouses, cold storage facilities and processing technologies. Among the measures introduced to increase efficiency, the minister highlighted that bureaucratic burdens are being removed from farmers’ shoulders. The 25 percent advance payment that can be requested for the investment can now be withdrawn immediately without proof of self-financing. This assistance also applies to applications that are already in progress. Of course, self-financing must be completed by the end, he added. According to István Nagy, the dangers must also be seen: the European Commission would cut the agricultural budget by more than 20 percent at the EU level. In the case of Hungary, this would mean an even more serious reduction in resources of about 25 percent in the period between 2028 and 2034. This proposal is unacceptable, as it fundamentally threatens Hungarian agriculture. Hungary has consistently said no to these plans in the past seven months, and will continue to protect the interests of Hungarian farmers by all means in the future.

AM/MTI