As part of the OrganicYieldsUp project, ÖMKi partners including organic farmers, consultants, researchers and representatives of SMEs took part in a two-day event in Hajdúnánás on 4–5 March 2026: they visited two organic farms, Szentmihályi Ökoporta and Erdődi Biokertészet, learnt about improving organic yields, discussed the causes and consequences of unstable yields, and compiled a list of potential solutions that could be implemented by various stakeholders.
The aim of the EU-funded project OrganicYieldsUp is to contribute to increasing and stabilising organic yields by summarising and analysing the knowledge and data available in Europe, developing local strategies in this area with the involvement of stakeholders, and assessing the suitability of these strategies. The project also aims to establish a European Network of Living Labs for Increasing Organic Yields with the involvement of 11 partner countries. By the end of the project, the consortium will contribute to incentivizing the improvement of organic yields at national and EU levels by developing a package of policy recommendations for the European Commission.
Within the project, ÖMKi is responsible for developing training materials to facilitate the establishment of the European Living Lab Network (through a dedicated course) and creating the network's sustainability concept and action plan. In addition, ÖMKi's On-Farm Living Lab is also a member of the network, specifically through our on-farm research on organic cultivation technologies for protein crops. Within this framework, three Lighthouse farms have already been selected from among our on-farm farmers in Hungary (Erdődi Biokertészet, Szentmihályi Ökoporta, Csoroszlya Farm), who, by sharing their knowledge, are helping to foster dialogue on improving crop yields and disseminate best practices. In addition, a multi-stakeholder peer group was brought together in March 2026, including farmers, advisers, SMEs and researchers to share their ideas, with the aim of channelling their experiences and needs into the project's research as well as its policy recommendations.
The aim of the programme held in Hajdúnánás on 4–5 March was to explore the challenges and opportunities facing organic arable crop yields in Hungary, in collaboration with experts from the ÖMKi On-Farm Living Lab. A highlight of the event was the visit to Szentmihályi Ökoporta (Tiszavasvári) and Erdődi Biokertészet (Hajdúhadház). Szentmihályi Ökoporta showed the group their organic apple orchard and shared the difficulties related to apple cultivation. We visited their recently established walnut orchard, as well as their arable land with yellow split peas, which is currently under conversion to organic. The farm is experimenting with numerous arable crops (including winter wheat, einkorn, emmer, winter pea, yellow pea) and varieties and is also participating in ÖMKi’s on-farm research on protein crops, cereals and ancient grains. They operate their own on-site mill, from which they produce flour. Additionally, they produce organic apple juice. The following day, we visited the Erdődi Biokertészet, a biodynamic farm, where we observed both arable and bio-intensive horticultural production. Imre Erdődi explained that preserving and improving soil health plays a central role on his farm; he integrates numerous regenerative soil management techniques into his biodynamic practices to enhance soil fertility, uses minimal tillage in both arable fields and the vegetable garden, and uses cover crops and organic manure to replenish nutrients (he keeps cattle for this purpose), as well as carrying out soil inoculation using biodynamic methods. He also operates an on-site mill, with which he produces, also flour from ancient grains. One of his main vegetable crops is cabbage, which he processes into sauerkraut and sells locally and at the organic market in Budapest.
In addition to the field visits, the programme featured a number of speakers. On the first day, representatives from the three Lighthouse farms and colleagues of ÖMKi shared their experiences on the cross-visit to Luxembourg organised as part of the project, during which they visited three farms. Following their presentation, we heard three insightful presentations on increasing organic yields: Dr Éva Pénzes, head of the Hungarian Soil Protection Association, gave a presentation on the possibilities of soil inoculation, and the role and importance of soil microorganisms in preserving and supporting healthy soil. In her presentation, she emphasised that the protection of soil, soil life and, consequently, arable land is now an increasingly urgent issue. She explained a technology that stimulates microbial activity in the soil, thereby improving soil fertility, through the products of the companies that are members of the Association. Numerous experiments have been conducted in recent years which have shown that supporting soil microbes has a positive effect not only on soil fertility but also on crop yields.
The second speaker was Ágoston Tóth, a development engineer representing Biocont Magyarország Kft., who spoke about biological plant protection products that can be used in organic farming. He emphasised that biological plant protection must be regarded as an integral part of organic resource management and the resulting crop production, where the focus is not on damage control but on prevention. In his presentation, he talked about in detail not only the materials that can be used, but also about the agrotechnical methods that are essential in organic farming. The third speaker was Dr Vivien Pál, a research fellow from Nyíregyháza Research Institute of the University of Debrecen, who gave us a detailed account of the role of green manure and cover crops. We learnt how these plants fit into sustainable farming, and what effect they have on soil health, nutrient content, structure and microbial activity. Their experiments confirmed that, through their beneficial effects on the soil, they adequately support crop stability and yield increases in organic arable farming even without the use of artificial fertilisers. On the second day, Mária Dani and Dr Erika Kurucz presented the results of ÖMKi’s protein crop variety trials.
They have been conducting on-farm research for several years to enhance the yield security of the domestic organic protein base, examining in detail the performance and value-determining characteristics of protein species and varieties. Following them, Dr Péter Jobbágy, also a researcher at ÖMKi, gave a presentation on economic trends and yield data in the domestic organic sector focusing on certified organic producers, the size of areas under organic farming, crop yield indicators, and changes that have taken place in recent years.
As part of an interactive workshop, participants discussed the challenges and potential solutions for increasing arable crop yields in Hungary. Among the issues raised were the effects of climate change, soil degradation, knowledge gaps, limited crop rotation, difficulties with weed control, inappropriate species and variety selection, expensive inputs, wildlife damage, lack of water retention, low mechanisation, fragmented policy and a lack of cooperation between farmers. As consequences of low and unstable yields, participants mentioned financial losses, uncertainty in planning, loss of market opportunities, underdeveloped domestic processing sector and market, and the decline in the spread of organic products. They also identified the strengths already at their disposal on which they can rely: a strong sense of community, agricultural subsidies, available inputs, opportunities for knowledge exchange, dedication, and accessible research findings. During the workshop, it also emerged that farmers see more value in achieving stability rather than increasing yields, and they emphasised the importance of understanding crop yield in its complexity. Profit is also important to organic farmers, and they strive to increase yields; however, they will not sacrifice the value of the positive impact their practices have on nature and human health, nor the need to adapt to climate change, due to the prevailing paradigm of higher yields; and thus, yield stability is the priority.
In addition, participants explored potential solutions from the perspectives of four key stakeholders: farmers, researchers, consumers and decision-makers. Among the recommendations for farmers, the following measures were compiled: selecting drought-tolerant species and varieties suited to the land, rational soil cultivation and mulching, seeking opportunities for collaboration, the use of intercropping and crop combinations, crop rotation that is both economically and ecologically sustainable. Among consumers, the choice of authentic, domestic products received the most attention. The importance of environmental education for children, consumer awareness, and the role of grassroots organisations were also raised. Researchers were reminded of their responsibility to quantify the benefits of organic production, test species and varieties resistant to climate change, develop technological innovations, improve cultivation techniques, share research findings, and maintain close contact with farmers. Participants also came up with a number of recommendations for decision-makers, including facilitating cooperation among farmers (for example, by supporting joint machinery purchases), better incentives for integrating organic products into public catering, compensation for farmers’ water retention activities, promoting freedom of seeds use, and developing the processing industry, particularly with regard to crops that are ecologically beneficial but currently lack a market.
Over the two days, participants were able to gain practical knowledge and share their experiences with one another, and their collaboratively formulated proposals will be incorporated into the project's policy recommendations. We will continue our joint work with the expert group on 10 June at the Szári Szántóföld Nap, where participants will be able to visit the third OrganicYieldsUp Lighthouse farm, Csoroszlya Farm, and take part in another workshop aimed at refining the policy recommendations, which will lay the groundwork for the recommendations we will present at the project's international policy meeting in autumn 2026.
