Subsidies and Efficiency of Ecological Management in Hungary

Abstract

Conversion of intensive agricultural production with high production security into organic farming can result in huge losses of income to enthusiastic farmers who want to switch. The state should compensate for this temporary income loss in the form of subsidies. Only with the involvement of the state, through subsidies, could we on the long run encourage farmers who are ready to change in order to protect our planet and our environment. In our work, the support system for organic farming and its place within the Common Agricultural Policy was examined. We were looking for answers as to why it is worth supporting organic farming. The problem was approached from four aspects: misconceptions and misperceptions in society, sales problems of organic products, lack of professional information and interest, and bureaucratic difficulties. In order to present the practice of support of organic farming a number of in depth interviews were conducted with affected farmers, the results of which are reported in this study.