Territorial Inequalities in Vegetable Plant Payments in Hungary

The European Union‘s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) provides EU countries with significant resources. Land-based payments are a major part of farmers‘ income. By linking subsidies, the amount of funds received per hectare by subsidy claimants can be increased. The majority of subsidies do not impose any production obligations but simply require compliance with landscape conservation and environmental protection measures. The high level of subsidies is exacerbated by the weak euro-forint exchange rate, which has degraded some parts of agriculture into an investment. Continued concentration of land holdings has led to a significant share of subsidies going to farms which further increase land concentration and thus negative rural trends. The support for vegetable plants belongs to the category of coupled support, even though there is no obligation to produce. In the analysis of support, it is of particular importance to look at individuals and non-individuals separately, as well as the size of holdings. In my analysis, I further disaggregate the currently used categories of holdings and analyse them separately by claimant.