Hungarian agricultural economy under pressure to adapt

Udovecz, Gábor

Keywords: pressure to adapt, future prospects, development path, innovation and cooperation

The agricultural economy is facing a new adaptation task. In both the food and bio-energy markets, demand for agricultural produce is growing on the world market – both in Europe and at home. This process coincides with greater production risks related to climate change, as well as with the next review of the Common Agricultural Policy and the introduction in Hungary of the Single Payment Scheme (SPS). According to expert analyses and the various results of economic mathematical models it appears probable that as a result of the development trends and the adaptation and cooperation skills currently holding sway, by 2013 the Hungarian agricultural economy is more likely be on the path to lagging behind than catching up. On this path production hardly increases, real income stagnates and animal husbandry continues to lose ground.
Such future prospects are not, however, set in stone! There exists a more advantageous development path on which production can increase by 25% and real incomes by up to 50%, all without adverse effect on the requirements for sustainability. The prospects for catching up are realistic. It requires development, practice-oriented research, education and expert advice at every stage of the production path – which is extremely capital-, innovation-, and cooperation-intensive!

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