Hungary is a clear winner of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), and accordingly the Government is affording farmers every possibility to make use of the opportunities gained, Deputy State Secretary for Agricultural Economy Zsolt Feldman said at a professional conference in Siófok.

The Deputy State Secretary stressed that compared to the previous period, which ends this year, Hungary's share of CAP funding has increased from 2.4 percent to 3.2 percent for the period 2014-2020. This means that 12.3 billion euros will be available in 2014-2020, compared to the current total level of funding of 10.4 billion euros.

The European Parliament adopted the final drafts of the new legislation at the end of November, and it will be authorised by the Agriculture and Fisheries Council in December. The implementation regulations are expected to be published in spring.-summer of 2014. The regulations will be introduced in Hungary and all other EU member states from 2015. Accordingly, 2014 will be a transitional year during which the current regulations will remain in effect, and the new distribution model must be elaborated by next May, Mr. Feldman emphasised.

According to the Deputy State Secretary, the fact that Hungary succeeded in achieving more favourable conditions in negotiations on the green element that will be compulsory in accordance with the new CAP is a great success. Accordingly, instead of the 3 different types of crop originally proposed by the Commission for areas of farmland exceeding 3 hectares, the finalised conditions require the cultivation of 2 different crops on areas of arable land exceeding 10 hectares, and 3 different crops on areas exceeding 30 hectares. Farms that automatically fulfil one or more requirements (e.g. organic farmers, those who are primarily involved in grassland management and farms involved in certain certification systems) are exempt from these regulations. Maintaining ecological target areas (in applicable areas over and above those with permanent cultures) is only required for areas of arable land that exceed 15 hectares. The concrete list includes several elements that are favourable to Hungary (e.g. alfalfa, landscape elements, terraces, energy crops cultivated without the use of chemicals, and fallow).

The Deputy State Secretary also spoke of the fact that the new CAP also creates the conditions for the simplified funding of small farms and for the provision of special funding to young farmers. Simplified funding for small farms will be a voluntary element for member states and an optional element for farmers. 10% of the direct national funding budget may be put towards this purpose. The maximum sum of funding will be 1250 euros, and it may not exceed 25% of the average funding provided by member states. It is important to note that this system may only be entered until 15 October 2015. Its advantage is that greening will not be compulsory and there will be no sanctions on direct funding if farmers fail to fulfil cross-compliance requirements.

Within the new system, farmers who are under 40 years of age, are just beginning agricultural activities, or who founded their farm within 5 years of submitting their first application for funding, are regarded as young farmers. Funding may be provided for a maximum of five years, and its lower area limit is 25 hectares; as a result of a Hungarian proposal, the upper limit was eventually set at 90 hectares. In practice, the scheme means that young farmers will receive 25% in additional funding up to the maximum number of hectares.

Mr. Feldman confirmed the fact that during the course of negotiations Hungary had successfully stood up for the principle that the room for manoeuvre provided to sensitive sectors must be increased. Regarding direct funding, the funding level of so-called production-related funding was successfully increased from 3.5 percent to 13 percent. A further 2% may be put towards facilitating the cultivation of protein crops.

The Deputy State Secretary added that the Government's priority goals with regard to rural development funding, the second pillar, namely that funding for irrigation and the horticulture sector should appear in tender form and the promotion of the wider use of alternative energy resources, are also included in the new CAP for the period 2014-2020. Increasing the integral role of farmers' associations in the distribution of rural development funding, the promotion of shorter marketing chains and the marketing of local product, and the expansion of the programme to encourage the consumption of domestically produced products, are also important criteria.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)