The predictability and prosperity of the agricultural production is paramount from our nation's point. Against all narrowing and deteriorating agricultural policies of the past years, a farmer citizen layer has emerged in our society. They utilize 60 per cent of the Hungarian land in the form of family farming businesses. The Programme of the Government declares the intensive development of the agricultural sector, the country and the preparation of family businesses and the agriculture itself for the accession to the European Union.
A significant change has taken place in the government structure concerning agriculture that is, regional development has come under the control of the Ministy of Agriculture. Moreover, the scope of the Ministry also includes the management of water with agricultural purposes and the prevention of damage caused by water. International and national expectations also justify the need to accel erate the development of Hungarian regional and rural areas because regional development has been emphasized in the fora of international integrations and organizations - European Union, OECD, FAO - in the past years. The Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development strives to build close links with these organizations.
One of the big losers of the socio-economic transformation, the agro-economy needs special attention and care. In this spirit, we incorporated the development of small and medium sized agro-industrial businesses into the Programme of the Government. The success of our accession to the European Union also depends on the acceleration of our less developed regions to the level of the developed Hungarian regions.
The implementation of the Programme of the Government is prerequisite to the creation of a strong, competitive agriculture living up to the expectations of the world market, which means the nation's progress.
Dr. József Torgyán
minister, Ministry of Agriculture and Regional Development