"Young farmers can expect to receive further support during the upcoming European Union budget period of 2014-2020, so that as many as possible choose farming and agricultural activities as their was of life", stated the Ministry or Rural Development's State Secretary for Rural Development Zsolt V. Németh at a press conference on Wednesday in Budapest.

The State Secretary stressed that increasing the ratio of young farmers is of fundamental importance for the future of Hungarian agriculture. The long-term objectives set out for the Hungarian agrarian sector can only be achieved through a generational transition; this is how Hungarian agriculture can become more innovative and more modern, and so the Ministry is handling increasing the ratio of young farmers in agriculture as a priority.

Only around 6-7 percent of farmers in Hungary are under the age of 40, he told reporters.

Young farmers in Hungary – about 3300 of them – have received some HUF 36 billion in so-called young farmers' support in recent years, Zsolt V. Németh said.

Supporting young farmers is also one of the priority programmes of the European Union, he emphasised. To further facilitate this goal, in addition to the average 45 percent funding that they currently receive for development and purchasing various machines and equipment, young farmers may also receive a further 20 percent in funding in the next budget cycle, according to plans. As another example, the State Secretary mentioned that those farmers who receive funding for the realisation of objectives included in their business plan and who are confirmed to have achieved these goals may also receive a maximum of a further EUR 70 thousand for another five-year period.

The Ministry of Rural Development is also launching thematic sub-programmes to help young farmers, he said, including among others the Short Food Chain Project and the Young Farmer Sub-Programme.

Executive Chairman of the Hungarian Association of Young Farmers' AGRYA Lajos Mikula told the press that a wide-reaching partnership developed last year with the mediation of the Association between state institutions, the private sector and professional organisations with a view to facilitating the generational transition in agriculture. It was in this spirit that a cooperation agreement was signed during the press conference between AGRYA and Syngenta Ltd.

AGRYA's  Executive Chairman reminded those present that the organisation he heads had initiated the Vidék Kaland ("Rural Adventure") Programme and the Vesd Bele Magad! ("Get Involved!") drive, with the goal of helping young people become acquainted with work in agriculture and life in the country.

(MTI)