In order to take government measures to deal with the consequences of the extraordinary drought situation and the energy prices in agriculture, the government is forming a drought emergency operational team, announced Minister of Agriculture István Nagy.
In the announcement of the Ministry of Agriculture on Thursday, the Minister of Agriculture drew attention to the fact that almost half of the territory of Europe suffers from a lack of precipitation, and our country has to face a historic drought. By mid-July, a severe or high degree of drought had developed in the vast majority of the country's territory. After the 25 percent crop loss recorded for wheat, the corn stock in the Great Plains and Central Hungary has essentially been destroyed in a large part of the areas, and the permanent water shortage is now also threatening the crops of the trans-Danubian regions, he added.
István Nagy pointed out that the grasslands in the lowland areas were also completely dry, the farmers could not graze and could hardly mow. According to the Ministry of Agriculture's estimate, the size of all areas affected by drought and reported in the damage mitigation system may reach one million hectares in terms of arable land, the head of the ministry said.
István Nagy emphasized that in order to deal with the catastrophic drought situation affecting agriculture and the consequences of energy prices, a drought emergency operational team will be created, which will immediately begin its work in order to overcome the challenges facing Hungarian agriculture and the difficulties of farmers.
He explained that, in the current situation, the government supports those living in agriculture with all possible means. The head of the ministry stated that we always stand by the Hungarian farmers, who, despite all difficulties - pandemic, labor shortage, prolonged drought, drought, extremely high input prices, energy prices and the consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war - ensure continuous production and quality food supply with their work, for which they deserve the recognition of all of us. Thanks to the sacrificial activity of Hungarian farmers, fresh and healthy food can be put on the tables of Hungarian families every day. Overcoming the historic drought situation and maintaining a safe food supply is treated as a priority by the Ministry of Agriculture, the minister underlined.
Source: Democrat
