Govt submits updated rural development programme to EC

Budapest, May 24 (MTI) – The government has submitted Hungary’s updated rural development programme for the 2014-2020 budgetary period to the European Commission which is expected to pave the way for 1,300 billion forints (EUR 4.23m) of funding for rural development, the state secretariat for agriculture and rural development at the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.

The most important development goals include preserving jobs in rural areas and job creation in agriculture, State Secretary Zsolt Miklos Kis said in a statement. The government will spend 34 percent of available resources on investment projects aimed at job creation and half of this, or nearly 200 billion forints, will serve to improve the efficiency of food processing technologies and resources, and increase added value, he said.

The government handles preparation to climate change as a strategic task and plans to spend 532 billion forints on promoting environmentally friendly technologies, the use of renewable energy, expanding forested areas and promoting sustainable forest management.

The programme also gives priority to supporting small and medium-sized farms, especially family farms, because these will receive at least 80 percent of available support, the statement said.

The programme is expected to be approved in June.

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters