"International cooperation is beginning in the Danube region to reduce genetically modified (GMO) soy", said the Minister of Rural Development's State Secretary for Agricultural Economy György Czerván in Berlin on Saturday.

"The agreement, signed during the International Green Week agricultural trade fair will read to a reduction in import dependency, and may give new impetus to the production of GMO-free protein crops", the State Secretary said.

He added, "Protein crops play an important role in the countries that lie along the Danube, but crop areas are not large enough, and so in animal husbandry for example feeding is solved using animal proteins that are almost exclusively imported from abroad, and especially soy. These imports come primarily from Brazil and Argentina, where they use genetically modified varieties, whereas there is increasing demand for GMO-free foods within the Danube region.

"A solution to this issue may be the regional cooperation, proposed by Austria, in which in addition to politics and business, the scientific sector and consumers will also be involved", stated György Czerván, adding that "Many regions in Hungary have excellent capabilities, but soy is currently only cultivated on some 30 thousand hectares, with one fifth of requirements met by imports, although the country may become self-sufficient in the mid-term. This requires regional cooperation and a new, EU-level strategy aimed at the better exploitation of domestic opportunities.

In addition to Austria and Hungary, amongst others Bavaria, Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina also joined the so-called Danube Soy Declaration, signed in the German capital on Saturday.

In Berlin, György Czerván also held talks with Parliamentary State Secretary of the German Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Safety Peter Bieser. "The Hungarian and German standpoints coincide on several issues: for instance, Germany supports the Hungarian initiative regarding the reform of the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), according to which those countries in which purchasing power is lower than 75 percent of the UE average should not receive less funding in the upcoming budgetary cycle", the State Secretary said. "Hungary and Germany also agree on the issue of converting farmland into ecological target areas, i.e. "greening". According to our joint standpoint, the European Commission's proposal that 7 percent of agricultural land should be removed from production during the course of greening is unacceptable, " he added.

This is the 41st time that Hungary has taken part in Berlin's International Green Week (Internationale Grüne Woche). Exhibitors from 67 countries on five continents have arrived to take part in the agricultural, food industry and gardening trade fair, which lasts until January 27. The organisers are expecting around 400 thousand visitors. The event is also becoming and increasingly important forum for agricultural diplomacy. The so-called Agricultural Minister's Summit was held with representatives from 82 countries this year, and the main topic of the meeting was how to promote responsible and sustainable development projects in agriculture.

The significance of the issue is highlighted by the fact that the world population is expected to rise to 9 billion by 2050, as a result of which food requirements will increase by 70 percent. According to an estimate by the UN's Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), meeting this demand would require an annual investment of 83 billion dollars. Stressing the Hungarian standpoint at the meeting, György Czerván said we should concentrate on encouraging local production and distribution, and on supporting small farms.

(MTI, Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)