The Hungarian countryside is on a growth path

By: STA Date: 2023. 05. 05. 10:30

The vision of the Hungarian government is that farming and food industry production should be a profitable and socially recognized occupation in the long term – said Minister of Agriculture István Nagy at the CPAC Hungary – second European Conservative Political Action Conference.

(Photo: István Fekete)

The head of the ministry explained that the civilian government that took office after the 2010 elections immediately began to liquidate the former anti-rural left-wing political heritage. With hard work, they successfully put the Hungarian countryside on a growth path. We created one of the strictest land laws in Europe, we protected Hungarian land, we consciously developed and have been developing the domestic agriculture and food industry ever since, and we protected and will continue to protect the interests of Hungarian farmers, emphasized István Nagy. He added that it is a matter of national sovereignty who owns the land. That is why they put an end to the era of pocket contracts and implemented the “Land for Farmers” program.

The minister also spoke about how food supply is a national strategic issue

The Hungarian countryside has reserves that provide stability in a rapidly changing and challenging world. In the foreground of the measures is the strengthening of the short supply chain and the support of local products, and the further strengthening of self-sufficiency. By choosing domestic products, we also support Hungarian families and the livelihood of Hungarian farmers – he underlined.

The minister stated that strengthening the economy of the countryside means strengthening the whole of Hungary

That is why the government provided the maximum amount of national additional funding provided by EU law, 80 percent, in the 2023-2027 period of the Common Agricultural Policy Strategy Plan in addition to the EU development source. Thanks to this, they are building processing plants, warehouses, storage facilities and livestock farms, modernizing and digitizing agriculture, fundamentally renewing the Hungarian countryside and Hungarian agriculture. Finally, István Nagy touched on the fact that protecting our natural capital, the habitats and species of the Carpathian Basin, is also a strategic issue. Environmental and nature protection must rise to a new level, it must become creation protection. This is a value that we should and must fight for in the 21st century – he emphasized.