Top Agro Slovakia, one of the main annual events of the Club of Agricultural Journalists (KPN), the Slovak IFAJ guild, went very successfully this year.
For 16 years, KPN has been compiling its list of the 100 best Slovak agricultural companies and farms, who are honoured at the Top Agro event.
At the 2011 event, the 350 guests included Zolt Simon, the Minister of Agriculture of the Slovak Republic, who presented awards to the top companies and farms.
Top Agro 2011 was held in Rimavská Sobota, a small town in southern Slovakia noted for its excellent agriculture, but in a region hit by high unemployment.
The event brought badly needed business for local hoteliers and catering establishments, and TV and other media coverage of Top Agro helped to increase awareness of the region.
KPN members secured support for the event from the Slovak branch of the Italian bank, Unicredit, and from other sponsors.
KPN members as usual compiled a 104-page yearbook presenting the 100 best Slovak farmers and agricultural firms. For the 14 members (and not all are active), it meant travelling through Slovakia in a short time and gathering timely reports and pictures.
The yearbook is also an opportunity for club members to publish reports on agriculture overseas, including their participation in IFAJ Congresses.
In addition, Top Agro Slovakia generates some money for KPN, which in turn enables members to travel overseas for events such as the IFAJ congresses each year too.
Interestingly, an agricultural co-operative farm backed by Danish capital and led by a Dane, Michael Bager Houmann, was ranked in second place in the Slovak Republic by Top Agro in 2011.
This is an example of the recently changing ownership structures of many Slovak agro-firms. Several foreign investments have been made recently, particularly by Danish investors in beef meat production.
What is the current Slovak agriculture like? Wrestling with problems similar to all EU countries!
Agricultural prices have recovered this year, but managers are still prudent about the economic crises, and cautious when making investment decisions.
Slovak farmers are not satisfied with the new draft CAP proposal which provides less support after 2014 to them, in comparison with farmers from the old EU countries. They also oppose proposed limitation of direct payments for big farms which are typical for Slovakia, resulting from the previous regime’s land concentration policies.
Slovak farmers do not like the 7% land setaside proposal either.