What changes should we expect in agriculture in 2023?
2023. January 13.This year not only a new support system will be introduced, as in addition to tenders, attention must be paid to the expected drought, pests, and last but not least, to the preparation of the farm transfer.
Fortunately, the new CAP plan will give priority to young farmers and businesses in the ornamental horticulture sector.
In this article, we tell you what to expect this year in agriculture and what subsidies will help you get ahead.
Farmers can prepare for huge changes
Domestic farmers can expect a completely new support system and requirements this year.
The EU Council decided earlier on a fairer, greener and more performance-based agricultural policy.
Last year, the new Common Agricultural Policy was adopted, and the 2023-2027 targets include a greater contribution from the agricultural sector to the EU’s environmental and climate goals.
It is also important to better target support to smaller farms.
The new policy will be fully applicable from 2023.
Specific details of the future calls for proposals are not yet known, but some information is already available.
One of these is support for the digital switchover of farms.
The intervention will help to realise the potential of the digitalisation of agriculture and support site-specific farms, precision tools and the widespread use of decision-support software.
What is new in the new support scheme?
The new support scheme, starting this year, will give more opportunities to young and beginning farmers.
Young farmers who want to get ahead in farming will benefit from income supplements, investment support and higher aid intensities.
Also interesting is the inclusion of small entrepreneurs in the ornamental horticulture sector.
There will therefore be a specific application scheme for them, which has never been done before. 
What should agribusinesses be prepared for?
In agriculture, sales prices do not seem to be expected to rise for the time being, but this does not mean that inflation will not have an impact on this sector.
This should allow agricultural income levels to stabilise again and return to pre-drought levels.
But this can only happen if we do not have to face another drought like last year.
The livestock sector, especially pig fattening, has experienced very difficult marketing conditions in recent times, and farmers in arable land have been struggling with the extreme heat.
In the long term, the unpredictable economic environment is a further problem, as it significantly discourages investment.
This is reflected in a sharp drop in the uptake of subsidies.
This causes huge problems for the sector, as it reduces the competitiveness of Hungarian agriculture, which is already very weak.
Farmers will have to calculate what they can get out of this year and how they can do it.
Purchase prices have already risen significantly for the current production cycle, but selling prices are unlikely to climb much higher.
Although a fall is not to be expected, it is perhaps the only sure point at the moment.
It is important to note, however, that the agricultural sector is not at all prepared for a drought like last year.
Domestic agriculture is actually doing well, but there are still untapped potentials.
Companies need to think about their activities, their strengths, their markets and their weaknesses in order to develop a new strategy.
Those that succeed now will be among the successful companies of the next decade.