The misconception that Hungary is a water-rich country needs to be dispelled, as 94% of our water comes from abroad, and more water flows out of the country than comes in, according to the experts at the Portfolio Sustainable World 2024 conference.
Is there a problem? Do we need a complete redesign? - Lajos Braunmüller asked the question to the roundtable participants of the Green Agriculture and Water Security session at the Portfolio Sustainable World conference. Our company was represented at the event by Dr. Károly Kovács. His collocutors represented the National Water Directorate General, Nestlé Hungária Kft. and Talentis Agro Zrt. The parties agreed that Hungary can no longer be considered a water-rich country and that immediate action is needed by both economic operators and the public sector to ensure that the situation does not deteriorate. Boglárka O. Lakatos (OVF) stressed that a paradigm shift is needed, that getting rid of water and seeing water as a threat is not sustainable in the future.
Károly Kovács, CEO of Pureco, pointed out that the problem is not only the drastic decline in groundwater levels and groundwater resources, but also their contamination, and the fact that agriculture does not pay a water resource charge for water extracted from wells or surface water, but that the charge for industrial and domestic water use is practically symbolic. For industrial and municipal water users it is only 4 forints/m3. For this reason, there is no incentive for decision-makers and the sectors concerned to change this. It is unsustainable that we do not even pay for stormwater drainage and the increase in water charges for farmers and industrial companies last year is not a water resource charge but an increase in the water service charge.
Anna Hőgyész, representing Nestlé, also joined the discussion, saying that it is in the common interest to protect water, that she does not see conscious water management in agriculture and stressed that it is no longer an industry, but a common interest to preserve our water and to act consciously, with the cooperation of all sectors. István Zimmermann, Division Manager of Talentis Agro Zrt, indicated that to achieve a good harvest, they will have to increase watering by orders of magnitude in the future. He said that approximately 250 cubic kilometers of water flows through the country every year and that, in his opinion, the most urgent task at present is to retain the amount of water that flows through the country and to save surface water. After stressing the importance of action, the panelists summarised their proposals for solutions. Anna Hőgyész thinks in terms of landscapes, communities and watersheds, while Károly Kovács said that we already have all the necessary technologies at our disposal, the only thing missing is the payback. Until this is answered, he believes, there will be no change in this area. Boglárka O. Lakatos agreed, adding that many plans, strategies and proposals already exist to address the situation. There are many plans and dozens of strategies, but it remains to be done.
