An agricultural economist estimates that the damage to corn fields alone this year will amount to at least 600 million euros in Hungary and that the yield will drop from an annual average of eight to nine tonnes to just under five tonnes.
Hungary continues to suffer fromAn extreme heatwave – temperatures reaching 40°C in some areas – and drought has already caused major damage to the country’s agriculture.
Heatwave warnings have been issued across the country and will remain in effect until Sunday evening.
These extreme heats, combined with a lack of precipitation, have caused drying out of the soil which damaged many corn, sunflower and sugar beet plantations.
Damages of around 600 million euros
According to the Hungarian Chamber of Agriculture, 75,000 hectares of land have been damaged by droughtbut this figure is increasing by several tens of thousands of hectares every week.
An agricultural economist believes that The damage to corn fields alone this year will amount to at least 600 million euros and that the yield will drop from an annual average of eight to nine tonnes to just under five tonnes.
According to the Hungarian National Meteorological Service, the situation is particularly critical in the south of the country, but there have also been reports of severe drought in the northeastern county of Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg.
A particularly hot and dry year
The meteorologist Anna Mráz compares this year’s temperatures to the record summer Hungary experienced two years ago.
“2022 was the driest and hottest year in our history, but 2024 is quite similar. This summer was very dry, which caused corn and sunflowers to dry out.”she explains. “Unfortunately, we are not expecting any major rainfall, which is bad news for agriculture.”.
Zsolt Feldman, State Secretary for Agriculture and Rural Development, said: EU funds could be used this year under the Hungarian agricultural damage mitigation scheme; at least €87 million will be available to support farmers in March 2025.
Data from the Ministry of Agriculture also shows that more than 11,000 agricultural producers have taken out drought insurance for around 713,634 hectares of agricultural land this year.
Meteorologists expect that Heat to persist for at least another week in Hungary, and poor harvest prospects threaten to lead to higher food prices.
Additional sources • Adaptation: Vincent Reynier