NAK president: the strategic dialogue initiated by the European Commission does not serve the economic community

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On Thursday, György Zsolt Papp will defend the Hungarian farmers! Hands off agricultural subsidies! at a press conference in Miskolc, he added that the proposal must be opposed. The interests of farmers must be represented, especially in the case of area-based subsidies. He emphasized that this support system forms the backbone of Hungarian agricultural subsidies and is used by more than 162,000 Hungarian family farmers, primary producers or agricultural entrepreneurs worth around five hundred billion forints. The support distributed on an area basis is an objective, transparent support system with many years of experience, which is necessary for efficiency, essential for competitiveness, everyday living, harvesting or preparing for the next year – he emphasized. He added that although the support is based on area, several sets of regulations and conditions must be met at the same time in order for farmers to participate. The payment of applications submitted between April and June of this year reached HUF 120 billion by the end of October, almost 80 percent of the farmers received the support in the form of an advance – he noted. According to György Zsolt Papp, the strategic dialogue launched by the committee claims that agriculture, including animal husbandry, is the “main culprit” for the climate crisis and environmental pollution, but the document does not reflect numbers and facts, but “outlines visions”. The dialogue proposes to curb animal husbandry even with a one-time subsidy, raise the price of meat products with taxes, and create the possibility to switch to a plant-based diet, he said.

The president believes that this is no longer just a matter affecting a farming society, but a societal issue affecting all responsible consumers

In his opinion, signing the agrarian petition is necessary for the joint representation of Hungarian interests and values. At the same time, he emphasized that the strategic dialogue calls into question the serious experiences of the past years, and that not only the interests of the farmers, but also all Hungarian and European responsible food consumers must be jointly defended. István Jakab, the president of the Association of Hungarian Farmers’ Associations and Farmers’ Cooperatives (Magosz), said that the dialogue for the period starting in 2027 carries “serious risks” in terms of quality and health, because it would change people’s thinking, nutrition and relationships to the for foodstuffs. On the other hand, it would destroy competitiveness, since – as he said – it would reduce the use of artificial fertilizers and plant protection agents, it would determine what kinds of plants and species could be grown, and how the soil could be cultivated. The president said that they will turn to the European Commission with at least 100-150,000 signatures, but not only Hungarian farmers perceive the problems, but also those living in the Visegrad countries, as well as Italian and Austrian farmers, so a kind of farmers’ coalition is starting. He added that they would like the initiative to become a “strong” European citizen association, in order to represent interests and protect values. Mária Stefánné Fekete, the president of the Housewives Association of Magosz Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén county, talked about, among other things, that she believes that if the area-based subsidies end, it will mean the end of family farms in Hungary. He added that he will ask all his fellow housewives and all mothers to support and sign the petition.

MTI