Situation report from agriculture

2022. December 28.

Supply chain disruption, geopolitical uncertainty, climate change and the resulting above-average price volatility are just some of the challenges that farmers will face in 2022.

But it is not only farmers, but also food industry workers and seed experts who need to be aware of the challenges that will inevitably affect crops and equip themselves with the knowledge to successfully overcome the obstacles.
That’s why we thought we’d put together a round-up of the most important events in agriculture for autumn 2022.

Bakers still unable to raise prices despite rising costs

Things are getting hotter among bakers, and rising production costs are adding to the problem.
From local family businesses to huge industrial bakeries, skyrocketing raw material and overhead costs are an existential threat to everyone.
And the recent fall in consumption is even more worrying.
To illustrate the situation with figures: while the cost of raw materials has risen by 130-150% in the past year and energy costs have increased by a factor of 10-11, demand is forecast to fall by 10-15% next year.
We can then ask ourselves whether bakeries can survive in this situation.
Well, many bakeries have been forced to revert to overnight baking because of the spiralling energy prices, which means cheaper electricity and no need to freeze the product.
But they are finding it difficult to pass on this cost increase in their prices.
For this reason, among others, the Hungarian Bakers’ Association estimates that 20-25% of bakeries could go out of business in the next six months.
In addition to rising costs, labour shortages are adding to the problems.
In Hungary, the baking industry provides employment for around nineteen thousand people, but the association says there is still a shortfall of at least three thousand workers.
They are trying to remedy this shortage by introducing substantial wage increases and organising various training courses.

The Agricultural Sector Conference was held for the tenth time in Siófok this year

The event opened with a speech by the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, who touched on a range of issues that are increasingly on the minds of many in Hungary today.
The issue of irrigation development, which has become particularly topical in the Great Plain region, was also discussed.
Thanks to the regulation of the Tisza in the 1800s, the soil in the lowlands now only contains moisture at a depth that is barely reached by the roots of plants.
As a result, a large part of the rural development funding after 2023 will be dedicated to this issue.
The Deputy Minister was also pleased to announce that the European Commission had adopted the Hungarian Strategic Plan for the Common Agricultural Policy at the beginning of November.
This represents a total budget of 14.7 billion euros over five years, i.e. more than 5,300 billion forints, which could be a guarantee for the survival of agricultural production.

Young farmers get income support

The European Union’s agricultural sector is facing a serious demographic challenge.
Only 11% of agricultural businesses are run by people under 40, which seriously undermines the long-term sustainability of the whole sector.
This situation may have arisen mainly because a number of social and economic factors, such as limited access to land and credit and a lack of rural infrastructure, discourage young people from pursuing a career in agriculture.
The EU therefore provides various forms of support and incentives to facilitate young people’s entry into farming.
They are helped to start their businesses through start-up grants, income support and benefits such as additional training.
This will mean a direct support package of €3,400 billion in the first round between 2023 and 2027, and a development envelope of €2,853 billion in the second.
This will not only strengthen the competitiveness of agriculture but also guarantee food supply in the years to come.
But in addition to the support programme, particular attention will also be paid to the uptake of various innovations in the sector.
For example, an innovative soil improver has been developed that farmers can produce themselves from existing agricultural waste, eliminating the use of fertilisers and increasing yields.

Should we expect an invasion of Smurf Bass in Lake Balaton?

The black dwarf bream, which has been present in Lake Balaton since the 1980s, has not only spoiled the autumn perch season, but has also caused a lot of trouble during spring-summer bream and carp fishing.
The extent of the problem is illustrated by the fact that this autumn the Balaton Limnological Research Institute asked anglers to fill in an online questionnaire to assess the severity of the situation.
The main reason for this was that accurately determining the size of the stock is a challenge due to the size of the lake and the mosaic distribution of species.
So serious is the situation that the Institute’s research team even used the word invasion in their communication.
Many of us are then left wondering what could have caused this massive overpopulation.
Well, unfortunately, increasing water purification and the resulting increase in the number of pelagic seaweed beds of various species has also benefited the dwarf catfish in recent years.
The omnivorous invasive species has found important shelter, providing protection from the waves during strong storms that used to threaten mainly juveniles.
Currently, the population has no natural predators, but experts believe that in a population of this size, there is a high chance that a devastating pathogen will eventually emerge and end the overpopulation.