Austro-Hungarian agricultural relations must be further strengthened

(Photo: AM/Csaba Pelsőczy)

The minister explained that the agricultural topics and challenges are similar between the two countries. Agriculture has to deal with many difficulties, such as the effects of the Russian-Ukrainian war and climate change. However, maintaining the ecosystem and biodiversity is our shared responsibility. Forestry issues were also discussed at the meeting. According to the minister, a professional discussion should be held on how and what kind of new forest plantations should be carried out in order to reduce the effects of climate change.

István Nagy emphasized that we are very happy to share our experience with wheat cultivation and GMO-free production

Hungary is looking for solutions to the challenges posed by climate change in its gene banks. We can achieve serious results by breeding the old Hungarian varieties. One of the largest gene banks in the world operates in Hungary. We have large state research institutes in Martonvásár that are looking for solutions to climate change, and in Szeged they are conducting tests on toxin resistance. And we are ready to share our results with our Austrian partners, he added. Regarding Ukrainian agricultural products, the head of the ministry spoke about how, due to the high cost of land transportation, the grain does not reach the Mediterranean ports, so it gets stuck in the frontline countries neighboring Ukraine, causing serious market tension for farmers. Our country is committed to protecting the interests of Hungarian producers and finding long-term solutions to the challenges, he emphasized. He explained that we also have to acquire Austrian consumer awareness, and we also look to Austria as an example in the field of wine marketing. In addition, we would like to learn about the accumulated experience with regard to the Austrian agricultural damage mitigation system, and our country is also an important ally of Austria in terms of agricultural digitization.

The minister also participated in the Hungarian-Austrian economic round table, where he drew attention to the renewal of Hungarian agriculture

He explained that the real competitive advantage in agriculture today is if farmers respond to new conditions with appropriate expertise, sufficient flexibility and openness. From 2021, Hungary supplemented the resources of the current EU budget cycle with an unprecedented amount of 80 percent national resources and began to use them. More than 11,000 tenders have already received approximately HUF 1,500 billion in investment support, he added. István Nagy said that Hungarian farmers spent HUF 686 billion on development in 2022, 81 percent more than in 2010 at constant prices. Thus, it is no coincidence that in the last 12 years the added value per hectare has increased by more than two and a half times in territorial productivity. Investments in agriculture expanded spectacularly between 2010 and 2022, which contributed to the modernization of the sector, increasing its productivity and competitiveness, the head of the ministry listed. During his visit to Austria, István Nagy also consulted with Hans Peter Doskozil, the governor of Burgenland, in Kismarton.

AM