Green Agriculture in Hungary: The Factors of Competitiveness in Organic Farming

Abstract

In Hungary there are only 1455, mostly small sized, organic farms, which cover 2.5 % of the total agricultural land. More than 90 % of the farmers are involved in the agri-environmental program, which provides financial support for organic farming. Only a small proportion of the farmers are competitive without a compensatory payment, and mostly those who sell more value-added products directly to consumers. The Hungarian strategy involves an extension of agricultural areas under organic farming, but under the present circumstances this is only conceivable with the restructuring of the support system. Organic farming, however, requires vocation. According to the unanimous opinion of concerned producers the organic market is based on confidence, where efficiency cannot be achieved without the development and maintaining appropriate market relations. Producers ignoring these characteristics of the market will be spilled out of the competition after a while, but more importantly will undermine the confidence of the entire organic market. The Hungarian regulatory and support system should consider these intangible factors in the same way as the proper implementation of the production.