The Öko Expo will be held for the fourth time in the Kendereskert in Hajdúnánás, the event will be held on September 8-9 this year – the organizers announced at a press conference in Debrecen.
Tibor Szólláth, mayor of Hajdúnánás, president of the Eastern Hungarian Bioculture Association, national vice-president responsible for environmental sustainability of the National Chamber of Agrarian Economy (NAK), said that organic farming is a form of farming that can combine sustainability and efficiency.
The number of organic farms is increasing in the world and in Hungary as well, and the areas where organic farming is taking place are expanding, the expert added.
Tibor Szólláth referred to the Green Deal of the European Union (EU), which, according to him, brings the biggest change in the lives of farmers since the regime change and EU accession.
He added that many farmers in Hungary are consciously moving in the direction of organic farming. For them, they would like to present the knowledge, technique and technology that is already available in this area at the Öko Expo in Hajdúnáná.
At this year’s fourth expo, according to NAK’s vice president, they are “jumping an order of magnitude”, because in large demonstration areas, farmers can see the latest tools of organic farming in practice.
Tibor Szólláth highlighted chemical-free weed control, laser weed control, the use of tillage robots and drones in organic farming, but he also mentioned the importance of organic seed production.
István Jakab, the vice-president of the Parliament and the president of the Association of Hungarian Farmers’ and Farmers’ Cooperatives (Magosz), said that the raw materials necessary for healthy nutrition must be produced sustainably.
Referring to the Green Deal, he indicated: 62,000 farmers took advantage of the opportunity to farm in this way on four million hectares in the future.
István Jakab called the Öko Expo in Hajdúnáná a unique initiative in Europe, where the new possibilities of organic farming will be presented in practice.
Endre Harsányi, the vice chancellor responsible for agrarian innovation and training development of the University of Debrecen, who is involved in the organization of the expo for the second time, said that organic farming does not work without precision agriculture.
He announced that in September, the university will start the bachelor’s degree in precision agricultural engineering, which is the first pillar of dealing with organic farming at the university level.
László Stündl, dean of DE’s Faculty of Agriculture, Food Science and Environmental Management, added: it is already clear that the conventional way of agriculture will not be sustainable in the future, but the knowledge is already available on how to support it in a gentle, precise and efficient way, making it sustainable and efficient do the farming.
In addition to the exhibitions of this year’s Öko Expo in Hajdúnáná and the arable machine demonstrations, a professional conference on organic farming will be held with the participation of domestic and foreign experts, it was announced at the press conference announcing the event in Debrecen.
(MTI)
