Precision agriculture in Hungary: assessment of perceptions and accounting records of FADN arable farms

Abstract

Technological progress can provide several solutions to the most significant challenges faced by agriculture. Precision agriculture (PA) technologies have been recognised as one of the rare win-win solutions for environmental and socioeconomic goals. Although they have been available for decades, their diffusion progresses at a slow rate. Therefore, in recent years, precision farming has been receiving more attention from agricultural economists. Perceptions of Hungarian FADN arable farms about precision farming were collected through a survey in order to compare with cost-benefit analyses. The survey not only revealed the details of the application of different technologies but also their impacts perceived compared to a baseline situation. For the main crops, the results confirmed that precision farming leads to increasing yields and has profitability benefits compared to conventional farming. According to the respondents, the high investment cost is the main barrier to diffusion, while subsidies and more appropriate information could foster it. Therefore, a specific subsidy package implemented both in the 'greening' component and in the Rural Development Programme of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy would be a stimulating factor for the wider spread of PA.

Economic and Social Barriers of Precision Farming in Hungary

“…Technical and economic innovations also include the involvement of further areas in the innovation process [65], creating socially involved innovations in increasing community well-being and addressing current problems at the local level [66][67][68]. This is also linked to social sustainability, which means production, criteria of profitability, as well as environmental sustainability [69].…”

The impact of policies on the diffusion of agricultural innovations: Systematic review on evaluation approaches

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Digital agricultural education in Hungary

“…Collaboration is the paramount enhancement for excellent digital agriculture transformation. Participation in the Rural Development Programme of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy is a stimulating step for Hungary to boost digital agriculture [38]- [40]. And Hungary is also trying to learn best practices from other intergovernmental relations, such as the Smart Farmer Programme [35].…”