István Nagy, Minister of Agriculture, opened the 31st Farmer Expo in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary, on Wednesday.
According to MTI, Minister Nagy called for unity between agricultural producers in the current, “unprecedentedly difficult” situation, in his opening address. Referring to the persistent droughts, the minister said “extraordinary weather conditions call for extraordinary measures” and pledged the government’s assistance “even to the smallest producer”. “The alliance between farmers and the government is solid, with the government standing by them,” he said. The government has decided to reopen a bidding scheme in which farmers can apply for a grant of 15,000 euros for operations and development, the minister said, adding that this time applicants were not required to come up with a co-payment. Concerning other measures, he said that ailing farms would be offered a loan repayment moratorium until the end of next year, while the government was in talks with insurance companies to speed up and make more flexible the procedure of compensation for farmers hit by the droughts.
Photo credit: MTI