The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a seed campaign so that farmers buy and sow Hungarian agricultural seeds – announced Sándor Fazekas at the seed production plant of the Kiskun Research Centre in Kiskunhalas.

The goal of the newly launched campaign is to draw attention to Hungarian seeds, without which Hungarian agriculture would be inconceivable. To Hungary, seeds mean an international status; the professional knowledge, toil and care of generations has accumulated within them. The Minister for Rural Development justified the timing the campaign with the fact that farmers and allotment owners are already beginning to think about what to sow, what seeds to buy for next year. It is important that they receive the message: buy Hungarian seeds.

The Minister stressed the fact that there is no other sector within the Hungarian economy that is as successful as seed cultivation. Hungary is the 9th largest exporter of agricultural seeds in the world, and the 3rd largest in Europe. This strong position has been achieved through the work of tens of thousands of people, and it bears with it huge possibilities both at home and abroad.

In Hungary, agricultural seeds are cultivated on 13 thousand hectares of land. The cultivation of seeds requires more manual labour and expertise than general agricultural cultivation; it represents a high added value and so presents significant perspective in the fields of rural employment, agriculture and economic growth. The goal of the Ministry of Rural Development is to facilitate the growth in the level of acceptance of Hungarian seeds both at home and abroad. The Hungarian scientific, research and training background is the guarantee that the sector may continue to grow and uphold a firm place within the strong market competition.

The value of our excellent quality, competitive agricultural seed stock, which are guarantee GMO-free, has increased in recent times. The Ministry is working on measures to provide an advantage to our own seed stocks. The Ministry of Rural Development has already simplified the process according to which agricultural and garden vegetable species are approved, and seeds are certified. The regulation on autochthonous fruit species is now being presented in Brussels. According to the new statute, native fruit species will become available for cultivation and distribution, and may also be entered into the National Species Catalogue following a simplified approval and certification process. In addition, the regulations regarding the secondary monitoring of agricultural seeds also cam into force this spring.

The second stop in the seed campaign will be the gene bank in Tápiószele, where 90 thousand seed samples from 900 plant species are in safekeeping.

Fériz Rádi, Managing Director of Kiskun Research Centre and Commercial Breeding Company, a family business established in 1965, and the venue for the opening of the campaign, told those present that the company is at present the largest Hungarian-owned agricultural seed breeding and cultivating corporation in the country. They produce and sell around 1000 tons of products – mostly hybrid corn – each year in Hungary, and in several foreign countries from Romania to France, and all the way to the Sudan. The company's turnover last year was equal to HUF 450 million net.

(Press Office of the Ministry of Rural Development)