According to the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture, the areas damaged by drought are growing by several tens of thousands of hectares every week.
ADVERTISEMENTIntense heat in Hungary has led to severe droughts which, in turn, has caused serious damage to the country’s agriculture.
Hungary is continuing to suffer under an extreme heatwave, with some areas reaching up to 40C.
Third level heat alerts have been issued across the country, which will remain in effect until Sunday night.
This, mixed with a lack of rainfall, has caused the soil to dry out, damaging corn, sunflower and sugar beet plantations.
According to the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture, the areas damaged by drought reach 75,000 hectares, but this is growing by several tens of thousands of hectares every week.
One agricultural economist estimates the damage to corn fields alone this year will be at least €600 million, and the yield will drop from the yearly average of eight to nine tonnes to just under five.
The situation is particularly critical on the Danube-Tisza border, on the eastern edge of Transdanubia and on the western edge of the Maros-Kőrös border, according to Hungary’s National Meteorological Service.
But reports have also shown severe droughts in Bács-Kiskun, Békés and Csongrád-Csanád. Considerable damage has also been reported in Fejér, Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg and Pest.
2024 similar to driest and hottest year ever
Meteorologist Anna Mráz compared this year’s temperatures to Hungary’s record summer two years ago.
« 2022 was our driest and hottest year ever, but this year is quite similar. This summer has been quite dry, which is reflected in the drying out of maize and sunflowers. Unfortunately, the coming period is not expected to bring significant rainfall either, which is bad news for agriculture, » said Mráz.
Zsolt Feldman, the state secretary responsible for agriculture and rural development, says this year EU funds are available for use in Hungary’s agricultural damage mitigation system, meaning at least €87m will be available for payments to farmers in March 2025.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture also shows more than 11,000 agricultural producers took out plant insurance with drought coverage for approximately 713,634 hectares of agricultural land this year.
But meteorologists expect the heat to continue for at least another week, further damaging already struggling harvests and driving up food prices.
