AKG and ÖKO advance payments have started

By: STA Date: 2023. 11. 24. 11:00

The government and the Ministry of Agriculture continue to help Hungarian farmers with a number of tools. The advance payment of the 2023 agri-environmental management (AKG) and ecological management (ÖKO) subsidies has begun – announced the Minister of Agriculture István Nagy.

(Photo: Pixabay)

The head of the ministry reminded that in order to bridge the transition period in the Common Agricultural Policy, the ministry announced the new AKG and ÖKO tenders covering the 3-year commitment period starting in 2022 in 2021. In the meantime, the ECO measure announced in 2018 was also extended, he added. According to the minister, in connection with the AKG call, it is worth highlighting that almost 17,000 farmers have received supporting documents, and the size of the areas involved exceeds 1.2 million hectares. Summarizing the main data of the tenders supporting organic farming, it can be said that more than 5,500 farmers were able to submit payment requests, and the beneficiaries can claim such support after almost 275,000 hectares – listed István Nagy, who emphasized that the first stage of the advance payment has taken place for this year. In connection with agri-environmental management support, farmers received about HUF 26 billion, while in terms of ecological management support, farmers received more than HUF 8 billion. Advance payments will continue, and those affected can always count on subsidies. The head of the ministry also touched on the fact that in the current challenging period, all financial assistance is appreciated for those working in Hungarian agriculture. Among these, he highlighted the new interest-subsidized working capital financing options, the Max+ plus interest-subsidized loans of the Agrár Széchenyi Card, and the preferential interest loan programs of the Magyar Fejlesztési Bank.