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• Agri-environmental management and rural development: Hungary after EU accession

  35-40

  Judit Katonáné Kovács

  Views:

  301

  In Hungary, similarly to developed countries, the share of agriculture in the GDP has declined. Even so, preparation of the sector’s long term strategy is crucial, as the role of agriculture exceeds the results represented in the GDP. Environmental and social functions of agriculture are revaluated in developed countries, and consumers at the end of the food chain actually govern the entire process. This is why information plays an increasingly important role, and gives signals (Verbeke, 2005) to the actors in the economy and society. This research area is diverse (including agricultural policy, environmental policy, rural development and sustainable development), and so I applied an interdisciplinary approach and conducted an integrated examination. The results show that in recent decades, the pressure of agriculture on the environment has been lower in Hungary than in the EU-15 and agri-environmental measures have taken hold in all types of land-use systems, even though they are more important in protected areas. Although this development provides a good basis for a long term strategy social capital has lost strength (Csath, 2002), so fostering the creation of internal and external rural networks – one instrument for this could be the Leader programme – is essential for sustainable rural development.

• Experiences on organisation of fruit and vegetable sector in Hungary

  65-67

  János Felföldi

  Views:

  332

  The objectives are (1) to reveal some current issues on organisations founded by fruit and vegetable producers and (2) to stress upon those factors that should be highlighted in the very next future. In Hungary, POs have been accounting for bigger share of fruit and vegetable trading in Hungary, which refers to a better organisation in the sector. Bargaining force and level of experience on running such businesses, although, are still much behind the level expected. Flexibility and speed of a running business are highly determined by the legal form of Pos. The most favourite form is cooperative that is not flexible enough as a business form, especially for starting businesses. Low yearly turnover and weak market power feature the POs, preferring short time solutions to strategic thinking. It is macro environmental factors that generate short term thinking, but coupled with mismanagement on different levels of corporate management.

• Role of innovations and knowledge – infrastructure and institutions

  7-10

  András Nábrádi

  Views:

  639

  There is a well known saying: Research converts money into knowledge, innovation converts knowledge into money. The knowledge-based economy has four pillars: innovation, education, the economic and institutional regime, and information infrastructure. Transformation towards a knowledge-based economy will necessarily shift the proportion and growth of national income derived from knowledge-based industries, the percentage of the workforce employed in knowledge-based jobs and the ratio of firms using technology to innovate. Progress towards a knowledge-based economy will be driven by four elements: human capital development, knowledge generation and exploitation (R&D), knowledge infrastructure. Increased investment in these four areas will certainly have an impact. National experience, however, suggests that an incremental approach will not work. Nations that have achieved accelerated growth in outputs and capabilities have acted decisively, targeting investments in areas of strategic opportunity. The organizational and infrastructural improvement of research requires supranational cooperation and the promotion of the free movement of knowledge. Therefore, the EU decision on the establishment of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which ensures that the GDP proportion for research and development (R&D) shall achieve 3% stipulated by member states in the long run, is particularly welcome.

• Analysis of the producer price of Hungarian raw milk in international comparison

  27-32

  Beáta Blaskó

  Views:

  391

  Although the dairy market crisis eased in 2011, Hungarian dairy farmers still find it difficult to produce milk profitably. As a result of the crisis, many dairy farmers abandoned milk production or reduced the size of their dairy herds in 2009 and 2010. Today, many of farmers are also considering ceasing production, in spite of the fact that the global dairy industry is facing an upturn. A dairy farm can operate profitablyy in three ways: 1) if it can reach a relatively high level of producer price 2) if it can increase milk production per cow 3) if it can achieve a relatively low cost of production. In the present study, I primarily analyse the development of the Hungarian producer price of raw milk in international comparison. Next, I list those factors which directly or indirectly influence the producer price of raw milk. Finally, I examine the relationship among disposable income, milk consumption and milk price. Since the start of 2009, the dairy market has been confronted with a period of extraordinary law prices. After bottoming out, prices had begun to slowly stabilise during the second half of 2009. By the end of that summer, international prices had started to strengthen and the last quarter of 2009 was characterized by a steady rise in prices. The strong recovery in prices experienced after 2009 was triggered by increased demand, mainly from oil exporting countries, but also from China.
  The price increase, however, reflected a significant increase in input costs in Hungary; the high level of feed prices and the unfavourable change in the macroeconomic environment must be stressed. The rising excise duty on diesel fuel and the VAT increase had a direct impact on Hungarian dairy farmers. These negative factors have increased the costs of the sector, narrowing the ability of those active in it to operate efficiently.

• The conditions of security in sustainable rural economics

  51-57

  Edit Elekes

  Views:

  331

  This work aims to map the potentials of safe rural economy. This topic cannot be separated from the processes of globalization and localization, affecting each other, whose positive and negative effects have been focussed on, especially in terms of the protection of security and sustainability or their damaging. In Hungary, sustainable rural economy cannot be achieved only by the rural economy’s systematic stabilization but its present structure and the security system, accompanying the process, also needs to undergo some drastic changes. Sustainable rural economy means a modern economy that aims to keep the rural inhabitants while increases the wealth of the whole society. The legal security of the sustainable local economy is guaranteed by the state in Hungary. The security of the rural areas is provided by the police as an armed force, the auxiliary police, the public place supervision, the local agricultural rangers, the environment wardens, and by the fish- and game-keepers. The Police Act allows cooperation with the further organizations of the society to preserve public order, and to protect property and prevent and detect crimes. The purpose of my thesis is to present security as one of the most important factors to improve the rural areas. I also aim to map the possibilities of improving security (such as cooperation, naming the resources assisting strategic tenders and participation in rural development programs).

• Leisure activities and travel habits of college students in the light of a survey

  57-61

  Attila Mosonyi

  Erika Könyves

  Ibolya Fodor

  Anetta Müller

  Views:

  1223

  In our article we deal with leisure activities and travel habits of 150 college students from Szolnok. We have analyzed the relationship between the frequencies of watching TV, that is: the time spent watching TV and doing sports. Furthermore, we have also investigated the frequencies of travels, and main motives of choosing travel destinations. We have found that college students have several hours of leisure time daily. Among the recreational activities, the ones that occurred predominantly are watching TV, doing sports, and travelling. It is interesting to note that the relationship between the frequency of watching TV and doing sports has not been significant while the relationship between watching TV occasionally and doing regular physical activity has turned out to be significant. Students who play sports for 1-2 hours a day spend significantly less time in front of the TV compared to their peers who do not do sports. 92% of the students travel at least once a year. The participants of youth tourism are quite price-conscious. In choosing travel destinations favorable prices play an important role.

• Civic organizations and citizens-an alternative approach to understanding civic engagement

  137-141

  György Szabados

  Views:

  279

  The importance of nonprofit, and inside classic civic sector is usually approached on the basis of figures of the Statistical Office. Based on these, we may assume these to have a slight or intermediate role in the greater economy regarding economic capacity and human resources. Actually, we cannot have a closer look into local conditions and circumstances which would contribute to a better understanding of how civic organizations are connected to citizens. It is difficult to estimate the background, effect, personal movements behind the civic sector; international literature discusses this issue in the framework of civic engagement. In a private examination, I may also contribute to the alternative approach to the importance of the civic organization sector by studying and measuring the complex indicator termed “civic involvement”. Additionally, a small scale pilot examination has revealed a better, more precise description of the connection between citizens and civic organizations, which may also enable the better planning of local municipal interventions.

• Economic modelling and analysis of Hungarian wheat production in the marketing year 2011

  63-67

  István Kiss

  Views:

  378

  In the framework of the present study I analysed the wheat production sector. In order to evaluate the situation prevailing in the sector I conducted an economic analysis which I based on primary data collection. The year of investigation was the production year of 2011. Long-term implications for different crop sectors can only be based on multi-annual analysis, so in this article I only attempted to analyse the sector with respect to 2011. To evaluate wheat production I compiled its cost structure and assessed it. To evaluate its position in comparison to other crops I also carried out calculations to determine the gross margin (revenue minus variable cost)1 By gross margin I mean the gross margin (C), which is production value (PV) minus direct cost (DC), by definition (C=P-DC). of maize and rape. I observed that the gross margin attainable on one hectare was the lowest in the case of wheat. I applied two types of gross margin, because I consider it important that a given sector should also be profitable without subsidies. In the case of the gross margin including subsidies it is essential to emphasize the role of subsidies, since their ratio varied between 30 and 47% of the total revenue. The importance of subsidies was the most significant in the case of winter wheat.

   

• The statistical analysis for the theoretical bio-methane market based on the opinion of car-owners of Hajdú-Bihar county in Hungary

  27-30

  Lilla I. Barta-Juhász

  Views:

  298

  The more expensive fuels and the health-threatening air pollution make even necessary the spread of such a fuel, which serves as a solution to these problems. In our country at present there are three public CNG filling stations, two of them are located in Gyôr and Szeged and the third one was opened at the end of October in Budapest. The lack of infrastructure obstructs the spread of the methane gas powered cars in Hungary. During my research getting information by means of a test questionnaire I measured the fuel selection of the drivers and their opinion about alternative fuels. Then on the basis of the results I determined the potential target audience of the bio-CNG. As it is also typical in our country, the most of the respondents use gasoline-powered vehicle and drive less than 12 000 km/year on an average. 55% of the respondents would have their car converted in order to refuel cheaper and to protect the environment, consequently there would be demand for CNG. The potential target audience is the urban population below the age of 41 with higher education degree and average salary. One of my future objectives is to design a CNG filling station network in Hajdú-Bihar county considering the demand of car owners.

   

• The impact of the internet on Hungarian food consumers’ ways of seeking information from the aspect of health awareness

  13-18

  András Fehér

  Views:

  354

  One of the main components of healthy lifestyle is proper diet. When putting together one’s diet, lots of information are needed in order to be able to pick from various foods which contribute to converting to a healthier lifestyle and maintaining it. The main purpose of this study is to determine and show examples of the characteristics of online marketing which could help consumers in the conscious conversion to healthy lifestyle. Of the various factors, great emphasis is placed on online health-related information. Based on the research findings, it can be concluded that healthy lifestyle-related information has a significant role in online sources. Consequently, Internet can be regarded as a preferred source of information in terms of the conscious converting to healthy lifestyle.

   

• Ecological aspects of increasing intensity in pepper forcing with prime attention to the type of the growing equipment

  81-87

  Tibor Kicska

  Views:

  350

  Significant amount of profit can be generated in forcing technologies by the efficient use of different elements in growing technologies, however, improving production intensity is on the agenda in the sector. Pepper forcing, as the most significant class of vegetable forcing, practically takes place under all the growing equipment widespread in our country, but there is a considerable difference in context of profitability and efficiency. This paper wonders whether the most intensive technology in pepper forcing is efficient regarding the use of forcing equipment, namely modern greenhouses, or growing under greenhouses with significantly lower investment cost is more efficient. The analysis represents cost-income factors and efficiency assessed on a long-term basis of different technologies via a deterministic model based on producers’ data collections. As a result of the research, economic indicators are calculated based on exact results which will help to conduct a comparative assessment of economic features in technological varieties.

  JEL code: Q12

• Subsidies are Potential Sources of Profitable Management – Their Payment Between 2010 and 2016

  97-120

  Bence Jávor

  András Nábrádi

  Sándor Kukovics

  Views:

  532

  Based on the allocations and distributions of subsidies in the sheep sector in the previous years (2004-2009), the authors examined the sum of aids claimed and paid from 2010 to 2016 and their farm-size related changes. The following data were collected from the Agricultural and Rural Development Institute on payments under specific subsidy titles, classified by sheep and goat farm sizes: 0-50; 51-100, 101-200, 201-300 and also 0-100, 101-300, 301-500, 501-1000, 1001-5000 and above 5000. Data procession was carried out by the SPSS for Windows 22 program. The size and population of the examined sheep sector underwent visible changes during the studied years leading to a reduction rather than growth. Their analysis highlights that size distribution of sheep farms has changed significantly in recent years, combined with simultaneous modifications of their sheep stock sizes in production. Their conclusions suggest that effects of years and farm sizes in the sheep and goat sector have considerably modified the aid sums paid under different titles.

  JEL Classification: H5, Q14