Barriers and Incentives for Generational Change in Hungarian Agriculture

Hamza, Eszter

Keywords: generational change, farm succession, young farmer, primary research, Q12; Q19

One of the biggest challenges for the future of agriculture is generational renewal, as the aging of farm managers - despite subsidies and measures to help young farmers - has been a problem for decades in both the European union and Hungary. Based on the analysis of literature sources, secondary data, two primary questionnaire surveys and interviews with experts and farmers, the study seeks to answer the following questions: What is characteristic of the generational change process of agricultural enterprises in Hungary? In which types of farms is it the biggest problem? What tools can help succession most effectively? The research also examines the impact of support policies and regulations on generational change. The results highlight that in Hungary the generational change in agriculture takes place mostly within the family. The main obstacles are the low willingness of the older generation to hand over a farm, the administrative burden of succession and inheritance, the difficulties of young people in accessing land and credit, and the lack of information on the conditions for succession. According to the research results, the solution may be a complex approach to the problem, differentiated according to farm type and sociodemographic characteristics, in which financial support, tax, land regulation, and personalized knowledge transfer and information together help the farm succession process.

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