Culture can only be created by united people - the Minister of Finance stressed on Saturday in Tiszafüred, on the day of wheat collection and pooling in the Jász-Nagykun-Szolnok counties of the "Bread of Hungarians - 15 million grains of wheat" program, adding that today they can bake a hundred times as much bread from the collected flour as thirteen years ago , at the start of the program.

At the event organized by the National Chamber of Agriculture (NAK) and the National Association of Hungarian Farmers' Associations and Farmers' Cooperatives (MAGOSZ), Mihály Varga spoke about how the Bread of Hungarians program has grown into a kind of new national holiday over the past decade: selfless helpfulness, national solidarity became a grassroots celebration. Hungarians have an unbroken sense of belonging, which could have surfaced in this program as well, he said.

Thirteen years ago, the program was started on the initiative of László Korinek from Pécs, and the amount of wheat collected in the first year increased a hundredfold in just over a decade. Today, they can bake a hundred times as much bread from the collected flour as in the beginning, he reported.

Culture can only be created by people who belong together

The minister recalled that 13 years ago, Pécs held the title of Europe's cultural capital, and nothing better could have happened than this civic initiative, which reinforces togetherness year after year, "sprang up" from the cultural season.

The country's bread will be prepared on August 20, St. Stephen's Day, the celebration of the founding of the state, as part of the Bread of Hungarians program, he said. For this 300-kilogram bread, in addition to wheat from the motherland, wheat, sourdough, salt and spring water also come from across the border, from the diaspora.

The Bread of the Hungarians program can therefore be considered as a preparation for the series of festive programs before August 20, which at the same time are active and actively help those in need.

the politician stated.

Mihály Varga said: the hundreds of wheat collection days and gatherings held every year across the country really recreated the national base of August 20.

"This is also expressed in the symbolic wording of the 15 million Hungarian grains of wheat," he added.

The finance minister said that after last year's drought, crop yields are significantly better this year. The domestic wheat crop can satisfy domestic needs both in terms of quality and quantity. Hungarian agriculture can make a positive contribution to the performance of the Hungarian economy this year.

Mihály Varga touched on the fact that the war taking place in our neighbor and the actions taken by Brussels have a harmful effect on Hungarian agriculture. He recalled that a few months ago, an international agreement was reached in order to ensure that Ukrainian grain reaches its target market in African countries even in a war situation. As he said: this did not happen, the shipments were stuck in Central and Eastern European countries, upsetting our markets and causing damage to local farmers.

He emphasized: if they did not prevent Ukrainian grain of uncontrolled quality from flooding the Hungarian agricultural market, the dumping prices would ruin Hungarian farmers and we would even be without Hungarian wheat next year. Although Hungary is helping the war-torn Ukraine with the largest humanitarian action in its history, "for us, the interests of the Hungarians come first."

"We will not allow ourselves to be destroyed, we will protect Hungarian farmers against Ukrainian grain of uncontrolled quality"

Mihály Varga emphasized.

He added that it is in the interest of all Hungarians that Hungarian farmers can produce under predictable and sustainable conditions. The government will use all means to ensure this for them, said Mihály Varga.

MTI

Featured image: MTI/János Mészáros