The Ministry of Rural Development of Hungary (VM), currently lead by Dr. Sándor Fazekas, is responsible for a range of specialised areas. The Ministry’s main goals are the sustainability and management of natural resources, the diversity of rural land use, and rural development.
Improving quality of life for rural communities and increasing the competitiveness of the agricultural, food production and rural economies are basic preconditions for improving the competitiveness of the Hungarian economy as a whole. This goal requires a reinforcement of the rural and local economies and communities, as well as the expansion of job opportunities and income generation.
Recent natural disasters are also of great concern for the Ministry and it has become vital to develop the central coordination of programmes, systems and institutions aimed at flood damage prevention and water/drainage management. The environmental protection and the preservation of our natural assets are also key priorities.
The Ministry also formulates government measures that relate to rural development, and supervises food retail chains, environmental protection, and agricultural economy. It creates the conditions for the safe and high-quality production and distribution of food products. All these objectives can only be realised if the expertise and research areas of each field are further developed. This includes research and innovation to form the intellectual infrastructure, as well as the creation and direction of conditions for research experts and adult education. Another requirement is the promotion of the relations between various specialist areas. Another goal of VM is the exchange of experience, and – in parallel with these – the broadening of dialogue within society.
In 2005, the Hungarian Ministry of Rural Development joined BiodivERsA’s consortium to broaden its research activity at the European level and to foster transborder collaborations that are highly relevant to the above endeavors. In particular, VM leads the Task 1.1: Collection of Information and Improvement of the Database of the BiodivERsA Project. |