In recent months, the emerging agricultural strategy of the European Commission, led by the newly elected Ursula von der Leyen, has caused a major stir in Hungary, as it envisages the phasing out of the current area payment scheme for farmers. The importance of this issue is shown by the fact that Hungarian farmers receive around HUF 550 billion in area payments every year, which are used by nearly 160,000 farmers, mostly family farms. The November opinion poll by Századvég investigated how Hungarian farmers feel about Brussels’ planned agricultural policy measures.

Brussels would take current payments away from farmers

Ursula von der Leyen initiated a report entitled “A Strategic Dialogue on the Future of EU Agriculture”, which would break with the agricultural area payment scheme and link payments to environmental objectives, among other things. Interestingly, Péter Magyar took a stand against EU support for cereal production, mainly in the form of area payments, in a Facebook post. The survey shows that

82% of Hungarian farmers have heard that the European Parliament is discussing the reform of agricultural subsidies.

It is important to emphasise that the report in question justifies the need to abolish area payments in order to prepare the EU agricultural support system for the enlargement of the European Union. In simpler terms, the Brussels elite’s aim with the planned reform of the agricultural subsidy system is to prepare Ukraine’s accession to the EU with its large agricultural area of 40 million hectares. The research shows that Hungarian farmers are strongly opposed to the Brussels plans to reform EU support for farmers. Accordingly,

83% of respondents reject the idea of the European Union taking payments away from farmers and using them to help Ukraine.

Hungarian farmers say no to genetically modified Ukrainian cereals

In early 2024, farmers’ protests broke out across Europe as imports of cheap Ukrainian agricultural products of questionable quality put European farmers at a competitive disadvantage. The survey highlights that

8 out of 10 Hungarian farmers (80%) would tighten import restrictions on Ukrainian grain.

In addition, since 2021, the European Union has been on the agenda to relax strict rules on genetic modification, and, in the summer of 2024, the European Commission gave the green light for the use of two genetically modified maize varieties as food and feed. Brussels’ efforts to loosen GMO regulations also fail to meet the expectations of Hungarian farmers.

More than three quarters (76%) of respondents object to the European Commission’s significant relaxation of current rules on genetically modified crops,

and only 15% see no reason to object.

• Methodology

CATI method, n = 500, survey of Hungarian farmers: November 2024