Changes in land use in CEE countries during the last decade

The trends in arable land use and production structure in the enlarged European Union ñ in contrary to the former expectations ñ contribute to the increasing share of cereal production. It is also enhanced by the subsidy system which was introduced and has been in use since the integration into the EU. The research uses the data of EUROSTAT database in order to examine the total agricultural area, arable land area, area of cereals and yield averages by single countries. The permanent decrease of agricultural and plough land areas can be seen in the EU land use from 1999 to 2009. It was proved in the research that the area of winter wheat, parallel with the permanent growth of average yield, has increased in most of the member states, which is an unhealthy tendency in regards to the production structure because it further adds to the overproduction of cereals

Technological answers for environmental challenges in crop production

In the developed countries it is getting more important to maintain the good conditions of the environment. In sustainable agriculture it is getting more important the need of reducing environmental burden duo to agrochemical use. To carry out environmental protection, the responsible use of natural resources and keep rural development for the future generation is out task. One alternative can be precision farming that fits the ecological, social requirements: to keep the environment, biodiversity for the future and fit the economic requirements. It is examined and forecasted the potential input and cost savings of precision weed management on a sectoral level in the EU countries

Chemical use in crop production - Can it be reduced by new technologies?

The necessity of chemical use reduction in agriculture is frequently mentioned. Due to the tech - nical development of chemical and machine industries, we have solutions to spread fewer ingredients per hectare than we did 30 years ago. One of these techniques is site-specific crop production. Depending on the number of farms and land used by turning to site-specific pesticide use, the savings vary between 5341 to 10 682 tons of ingredient in Hungary, and 5110 to 10 221 tons in Poland. Although site-specific crop production is compatible with ecological, economic and social sustainability, its real diffusion is not as fast as it could be. In both countries it is suggested to strengthen medium sized farms and encourage shifting them to site-specific farming, supporting machine sharing forms and services of fered by other companies

Quo vadis Hungarian agriculture? Lessons from EU accession

t he agriculture and food industry have become the most problematic sector for most new mem - bers of the e uropean u nion ( eu ), including Hungary. t his situation has arisen due to economic and social changes over the last 15 years. Its proportion has decreased significantly in both the production process and employment; however, almost 20 per cent of the Hungarian population is still involved in agriculture. t his study examines the main agricultural processes on the basis of data from the g eneral a gricultural c ensus (2010), compares the results with Poland and determines why Polish agriculture can be considered as a winner of eu enlargement and what Hungary has to learn about its success. n ew requirements in agriculture raise the necessity to determine possible farming alternatives, which provide a viable option for its partici - pants. t he study shows the effects of change in the agricultural sector in Hungary, the structure of farms, the profitability of agricultural producers and possible farming strategies, with special attention paid to the economic possibilities and consequences of the decreased use of artificial chemicals. t he study refers to the plenary session of the Polish a ssociation of a gricultural and a gribusiness e conomists held by the author in l ublin, in 2005

Role of agricultural innovation in matching the „greening component” of CAP (Case of site-specific crop production)

It is frequently mentioned, that one of the key elements of strengthening the SMEs is the permanent renewal, the capability for innovation. It is also true in the case of agriculture. From one point of view, i nnovation in agriculture ensures the widespread use of the most up - to - date technology. Lots of new solutions have been implemented rapidly that are connected to animal health questions, precision technologies, chemical usage, irrigation, etc. in the last decades. These new solutions sometimes are really new inputs of the production, machines, technologies but some of them are new managerial technics as well . Here the role of agricultural extension services, knowledge centres, experimental farms are important. Our opinion is that observing the good practice, adoption and/or adaption – the imitation – should get higher function in everyday life. Site - specific farming is a holistic system, a technology that allows target oriented treatments, thus managing the spatial and temporal variability within an ecosystem, by applying spot treatment applications. It has been shown t hat the implementation of site - specific crop production can result in savings in the use of pesticides, while savings can also be expected regarding fertiliser use, depending on the objective of production. This technology is the result of a longer innovat ion process that can be characterised as a technology - push one. Although it is compatible with ecological, economic and social sustainability its real diffusion is not so fast that it can be. The question is whether has any role of precision crop productio n in meeting the requirements of the “green component” of Pillar 1 of the European Union’s (EU ’s ) Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for the period 2014 - 2020? Is this technology intended to encourage environmentally friendly farming practice? Precision farmi ng is an abiotic factor, which is the ultimate tool for the reform of agricultural production

Development of food quality and safety system in the greenhouse industry – a case study from USA practice

The food safety system is under serious stress, largely because of rapid change in the food system. An effective food safety system provides an array of important social and economic benefits, including maintenance of public confidence in the safety of the food supply, and support for the export food and agricultural products. These benefits flow from success in minimizing food safety risk. This is first and foremost the responsibility of food producers, processors, and also others throughout the food chain, including consumers; the government can play important roles in the effort to minimize food safety risk as well. In this study I will highlight the key elements of the food safety development in the greenhouse growing environment with an example of an Ohio vegetable producer