RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND INNOVATION IN THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY – EXAMINING THE AGRICULTURAL ECONOMIC RELEVANCE OF THE HUNGARIAN SUPPORT SYSTEM

GODA PÁL – HONVÁRI PATRÍCIA – KRÁNITZ LÍVIA

Keywords: Keywords: agricultural innovation; RDI support, EIP-AGRI, AKIS JEL: Q16, Q18, R58

Teljes cikk
DOI: https://doi.org/10.53079/GAZDALKODAS.70.2.t.pp_166-182

The study examined the agricultural economic relevance of the Hungarian agricultural research, development and innovation (RDI) support system during the 2014–2020 and 2021–2027 European Union programming periods. The analysis focused on the research, development and innovation schemes of GINOP and GINOP Plus, as well as on the operational groups of the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI).
The results indicate that the proportion of projects with agricultural economic relevance remained low in both programming periods. A significant share of the supported developments was linked not to classical research and development activities, but rather to technological modernisation, digitalisation and adaptive innovation. The number of projects related to agricultural production was particularly low, while support funds became increasingly concentrated among larger and more capital-intensive actors.
The comparison of the two programming periods revealed a growing concentration within the support system: the share of agricultural projects declined, while average project size and funding volume increased. This suggests that corporate RDI schemes became effectively accessible mainly to actors with stronger technological capacities and higher own-resource potential.
In contrast, the EIP operational groups were more closely aligned with the specific innovation logic of the agricultural economy, as they supported cooperation-based and practice-oriented projects and provided opportunities for smaller actors to participate as well. However, the overall scale of the programme remained limited, while its planned continuation for the 2021–2027 period has not yet been implemented.
Overall, the findings suggest that a significant gap still exists between strategic innovation priorities and the actual accessibility of support schemes for agricultural actors. A more differentiated support system better adapted to the specific characteristics of the agricultural sector would therefore be justified, with stronger emphasis on smaller-scale, cooperation-based and practice-oriented innovations. The implementation of sectoral innovation priorities was also influenced by the transformation of the agricultural research institutional system and the limited integration of direct policy needs. It would therefore be worthwhile to strengthen agricultural, food and environmental knowledge centres – based on a model similar to the Wageningen approach – combining university and applied research institute functions, where policy priorities can be more effectively reflected.