Protecting our created world is our common duty

By: STA Date: 2023. 05. 08. 10:00

Hungary is committed to the fight against climate change, Minister of Agriculture István Nagy announced at the AIM for Climate conference in Washington on Monday.

(Photo: Csaba Pelsőczy)

In his speech, the minister explained that last year made even the most skeptical Hungarian farmers aware of the seriousness of the damage caused by the drought, as the drought and lack of rainfall destroyed 30 percent of the total agricultural land. Hungary is therefore even more committed to being part of the US Department of Agriculture’s AIM for Climate initiative, which brings together member states committed to agricultural climate research. The fact that eight university faculties and five research institutes indicated that they are currently implementing more than 200 related research and innovation projects worth 50 million dollars clearly shows the commitment of Hungarian agriculture. Their activities are primarily focused on the development of water and soil management techniques for arable crop production. The current project mix reflects the importance of agriculture, but private and European funding must also be increased, added the head of the ministry.

István Nagy also touched on the fact that we also support the digital innovation of public administration

He highlighted the use of a new remote sensing assessment tool for our state risk management system as an example. He emphasized that international cooperation is also of utmost importance to us. The minister cited as an example the BIOEAST initiative, which is a bioeconomy, research and innovation association of eleven Central and Eastern European agricultural ministries. The minister called the development of an EU research and innovation partnership program an important goal. István Nagy pointed out that the Ministry of Agriculture is also committed to supporting the younger generation, so it also cooperates with public and private scholarship or start-up programs, and we are also very proud of our European biomass-based economic youth ambassador.

During his visit to the United States, the head of the ministry will meet with the Minister of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and Glenn Thompson, the chairman of the Congressional Committee on Agriculture, and will also hold discussions with the leaders of farmers’ organizations.