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Farmers consider abandoning drought-hit region in central Hungary
Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 1, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Global Banking and Finance Review
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Published by Global Banking and Finance Review
Posted on August 1, 2025
3 min readLast updated: January 22, 2026
Farmers in Central Hungary face severe drought, impacting agriculture and prompting some to consider relocation or new careers.
By Anita Komuves and Krisztina Fenyo
LADANYBENE, Hungary (Reuters) -Farmers in southern Hungary's key agricultural area are grappling with increasingly severe drought as climate change cuts crop yields and reduces groundwater levels, with some considering relocating or alternative employment.
The vast flatland, situated between the Tisza and the Danube rivers, produces corn, grain, and sunflower seed, but scientists warn that rising temperatures and insufficient rainfall are threatening its agricultural viability.
The Hungarian meteorological service said on Thursday that soil in central Hungary remains "critically dry" despite recent rains, with summer crops severely affected.
Krisztian Kisjuhasz, a beekeeper in Ladanybene would normally move his bees home to his farm at the end of the honey-producing season in July, and start preparing them for the winter.
This year, however, he packed up his bees in the middle of the night, wearing a headlamp with red light to move them to a flood zone of the Tisza river, more than 80 kilometers from his home to ensure they have access to pollen.
"Last year 30% of our bees died mainly because there was not enough pollen due to the drought ... they were not strong enough for the winter," he said, adding that the costs of commuting to tend to his bees will force him to raise honey prices.
Kisjuhasz, whose farm has been in his family for five generations, is now contemplating selling it and moving to a less dry area.
"There is no future for beekeeping in the Homokhátság," he said.
In May, the government launched a project worth about 5 billion forints ($14.29 million) to clean canals and focus on water retention to combat drought.
However, the government cannot completely protect the country from the drought, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said in an interview with website baon.hu last month.
"We are doing everything we can, but even these efforts will only be sufficient to alleviate the damage caused by drought," he said.
In 2022, a droughtcaused 1000 billion forints ($2.86 billion) of losses for the agricultural sector and contributed to a rise in Hungarian inflation to two-decade highs.
Csaba Toldi, a farmer in Jaszszentlaszlo, said his grasslands produced a loss this year for the first time due to the drought and he is seeking alternative work.
Water needs to be returned to the Homokhatsag region, either through channels or water retention, Toldi says, otherwise "this area will completely dry out."
($1 = 350.0000 forints)
(Reporting by Anita KomuvesEditing by Alexandra Hudson)
Farmers in southern Hungary's key agricultural area produce corn, grain, and sunflower seed, all of which are threatened by rising temperatures and insufficient rainfall.
Krisztian Kisjuhasz, a beekeeper, reported that 30% of his bees died last year due to a lack of pollen caused by the drought, leading him to consider selling his farm.
In May, the government launched a project worth about 5 billion forints to clean canals and focus on water retention to combat drought, although Prime Minister Viktor Orban noted that these efforts can only alleviate some damage.
In 2022, the drought caused 1000 billion forints in losses for the agricultural sector and contributed to a rise in Hungarian inflation to two-decade highs.
Many farmers, including Kisjuhasz, are contemplating abandoning their farms and moving to less dry areas as they see no future for agriculture in the drought-stricken Homokhátság region.
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