Transformation of agriculture in Hungary in the period 1990‑2020

József Lennert,Farkas Jenő Zsolt

doi:10.7163/sow.56.2

Abstract

This paper aspires to provide a thorough overview of the transformation of the Hungarian agricultural sector from 1990 through to 2020. After a brief historical outline, three decades of changes and the present state are discussed in the context of the legislative framework, farm and ownership structure, production structure, land use and ecological sustainability. The changing role played by agriculture in the Hungarian economy and rural societies is also taken into consideration, while the overarching effects of EU accession and the introduction of the CAP are also investigated. The establishment of a legislative framework for privatisation and compensation in respect of the former collectivisation proved one of the major challenges during the transition to a market economy. As a result, this evened out the shares of all agricultural land in private and legal holdings in the first decade, with the number of smallholders exceeding one million. However, the following two decades were characterised by concentration, as the overall number of private holdings fell quickly, while there was an increase in numbers of those with more than 10 ha of utilised agricultural land. Hungary’s political and economic transition was followed immediately by a dramatic decline in terms of production output. However, after the initial plunge, crop production started to rise again rapidly, so that by the early 2000s it had surpassed what had been achieved during the communist era. In contrast, the crisis in livestock production proved to be more prolonged.

Highlights

The changing role played by agriculture in the Hungarian economy and rural societies is taken into consideration, while the overarching effects of EU accession and the introduction of the CAP are investigated
Three decades have passed since the fall of communism and Hungary’s political and economic transition
We are approaching a situation in which the time that has passed since that transition will be as long as the last period of communism in Hungary, the so-called Kádár-era

Summary

Introduction

Three decades have passed since the fall of communism and Hungary’s political and economic transition. This poses questions, concerning, inter alia: the extent to which 3 decades of post-communist development altered the development pathway that was followed previously; the characteristics that have remained, and the new features and trends that have emerged during the said three decades; Hungarian agriculture’s ability to adapt to the changing circumstances; and the extent to which it is possible to regard it as one of the losers of the political and economic transition?. Several natural and economic factors are considered as the value is determined – including edaphic and climatic conditions, topography, market accessibility and local costs of production (Bobvos 1996) On this basis, Hungary’s best-endowed areas are seen to be located on the Great Plain, as well as the Little Hungarian Plain. The borders of the administrative units of Hungary (e.g. counties and regions) derive from the ArcMagyarország database

Research methods

Findings

Conclusion