The conflict between Ukraine and Russia raises serious food security issues and risks, Agriculture Minister István Nagy said after a meeting of the European Union’s Agriculture and Fisheries Council in Brussels on Monday.
The meeting was joined virtually by Ukraine’s Agriculture Minister Roman Leshchenko, who confirmed that Ukrainian farmers were unable to carry out their tasks because of the war, Nagy told Hungarian reporters. The situation is further aggravated by rising farming input costs across Europe, he added. Nagy noted that Hungary and other EU member states had turned to the European Commission multiple times since last autumn calling for special measures in support of livestock sectors. “It took a war for them to take these warning signs seriously,” he said. Nagy said the EC on Monday announced an aid package for the bloc’s agriculture sectors that is expected to include 500 million euros in funding for farmers. Another key element, he said, was a temporary easing of certain “greening” requirements for arable lands.
hungarymatters.hu
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