NAK President: Area-based subsidies are decisive for the operation of Hungarian agriculture

Regarding their petition entitled Let’s protect Hungarian farmers! Hands off agricultural subsidies!, Zsolt György Papp said that despite the challenges of recent years, Hungarian farming society has turned towards renewal, which the European Union’s ideas could fundamentally thwart. He believed that the voice of Eastern European farming society was not listened to when planning the Common Agricultural Policy, which covers the period after 2027, otherwise it would not be possible to take away area-based subsidies from farmers. The president stated that this decision affects more than 162 thousand Hungarian agricultural enterprises and that this source has been decisive for their operation so far. He indicated that this was not found money, farmers are making commitments for it to make agriculture even more sustainable. Zsolt György Papp emphasized that with their petition they want to take action against the abolition of area-based subsidies, but they are also speaking out against attempts to reduce livestock farming. As he said, there is no Hungarian agriculture without livestock farming, so they are asking for everyone’s support to protect the future of Hungarian agriculture. According to Imre István Varga, the president of the NAK Fejér County, the resources intended for area-based subsidies would probably be given to Ukraine to help the enterprises of the mostly foreign big capitalists there. He noted that they cannot let them take 550 billion forints a year from Hungarian farmers, because that would endanger their competitiveness and livelihood.

According to András Cseh Tibor, Secretary General of Magosz, this is not only a matter for farmers, but also for consumers

On the one hand, removing subsidies would lead to price increases, and on the other hand, making animal husbandry impossible would endanger the supply of high-quality, safe food. Virág Szabó, President of the Young Farmers’ Association of Fejér County, highlighted that a generational change is taking place in Hungarian agriculture, and the sector can only become attractive to young people if there is stability, and this can be ensured by area-based support. Norbert Ivó Kiss, President of the Association of Young Farmers’ Associations of Fejér County, called it incomprehensible that while subsidies would be abolished, the commitments required from farmers in return would remain, and that the difficulties related to animal husbandry would put South American countries in a position instead of traditional European meat production. This is not in the interest of any European farmer, not even Hungarians, he added.

MTI