– interview with the founders of Pannon-Mag-Agrár Kft.
In 2004, Pannon-Mag-Agrár Kft. was founded in Mosonmagyaróvár by seed management, plant protection and crop-growing engineers, who already had several years of experience abroad and in Hungary. During the nearly 20 years we talked with Zsolt Kovács-Csömör and Sándor Házi, the former inventors of ideas about the enterprise, seed production and even the basics of rational farming.
Success depends on the realistic nature of the idea and the professionalism of its implementation
– Their common career started with a university, a German seed plant practice, and their attachment to the seed industry has remained unbroken ever since. The idea, formulated 25 years ago, took shape in a joint workplace, then as a second job in a joint venture, and by now it has continued in a well-prosperous, internationally known seed production and distribution company. What we need to know about Pannon-Mag-Agrár Kft.About?
– We are engaged in seed production and marketing, but that means much more than that, started the reply Zsolt Kovács-Csömör. – We conclude fixed-price contracts with 250-300 producers, monitor their entire production cycle, provide them with expert advice and, if necessary, inputs. We help in sowing announcements and inspections to the authority, and then, of course, we take over (purchase), clean and dry the produced seed. After storage, the seed is sealed and sold individually or in a mixture, based on market requirements, and delivered to the integrator partners. Thus, a total of about 4000 tons of grain and 1500 tons of soya are processed in the seed plant each year, but our small-seed processing is also significant; red clover and alfalfa, wood-steel, mustard, oilseeds, vetches, purple clover, sand oats, grass seeds and pecans – but we also make a significant contribution to overall European turnover.
– One 17 000 m2We walk around in a warehouse, which is almost on the ear, also seeing the logos of large Hungarian integrators. This amount already assumes a lot of traffic. Is this the size of the Hungarian market?
– I must say, unfortunately not. We currently produce seeds on 12-14 thousand hectares at home, in Slovakia, Austria and Moldova, so we have already outgrown our country by producing them – Sándor Házi illustrates the market scale. – Our production cover crop seeds the volume sold in Hungary is 60-70%of .... The other significant part of our produced seeds and mixtures are delivered to breeders' houses and wholesalers in Western Europe. Export success, of course, is good news, but domestic agriculture could also take on a much larger volume; I say this not necessarily with the need to increase the seed sector in mind, but rather with our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, our soils, crop rotation, For the sake of diversification and our average yields.
– Are you referring to crop rotation and, indirectly, biodiversity?
– It is often said that we have narrowed our crop structure and that we are only thinking about four crops, which, of course, also has economic and comfort reasons. As long as the cultivation of sunflower and rapeseed among maize, cereals and oilseeds is based on many years of practice and is profitable, it is difficult to persuade the producer to ‘thinking differently’.
– But does it really work? The past year has refuted this experience in many places.
– Such a drought could not be expected or prepared for, adds Zsolt Kovács-Csömör, as it prevented production in the eastern part of the country. The consequences could not have been prevented by any technology. Therefore, we would rather inspire farmers to think in the longer term when referring to the crop structure. Including a leguminous plant in line with today’s fertiliser prices would already expose a significant amount of nitrogen in our soils to the next crop, and why not follow the ‘accustomed‘stamped cereals. What is the current trend called: It can also be called greening or a cover plant, but for example, the soil improvement effect of an oil radish, or the role of the root system of any mixture (whether purple clover, vetch, sand oats or woodchip) in the formation of capillaries, thus stimulating soil biology on the one hand improves our soil and on the other hand increases its ability to survive in the long run.
Author of article: Ildikó Sándor
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Quality preserved in the core
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Quality preserved in the core