This year's Digital Agricultural Fair, one of the most important agricultural events in the region, was held at the Széchenyi István University's Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár, on 10 April. Among the exhibitors were the most important market players of the sector, as well as the research and educational units of the university. The aim of the programme is to enable the future generation of young farmers to learn about and apply digitisation and precision farming solutions to the whole food production process.

The Digital Agricultural Exhibition was jointly organised by the Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár, the Centre for Higher Education and Industrial Cooperation, the Digital Development Centre and the Farmer's Association of Óvár with the participation of a record number of nearly fifty exhibitors. The programme on "smart farms in agriculture" was attended not only by university students, but also by high school students and agricultural professionals from the region.

This year's Digital Agricultural Fair was again a popular programme at the Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyarovár (Photo: András Adorján)

Dr. Tamás Tóth, Dean of the Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár, said in his welcome speech that the Agricultural Fair, which started in 2016, has become one of the most important events in the region's agricultural sector. "With the support of the management of Széchenyi István University, sustainability, modern food technologies, precision farming and digitisation have been put in the spotlight by modernising the training programmes offered at the faculty. In 2023, we inaugurated our Smart Farm, setting an example for the practical and project base renewal of secondary and tertiary education. The changes have been well received by our students, as evidenced by the dynamic growth in the number of applicants ," the Dean underlined.

Precision farming and modern technology go hand in hand. Many people were interested in the sprayer drone made with university participation (Photo: András Adorján)

Since last year, the University has overtaken the managment of the Péter Veres Agricultural and Food Technology Vocational Secondary School and Dormitory in Győr, which also took part in this year's programme. Rudolf Csiszár, headmaster of the school, said that since joining the university, the world has opened up for them. They have access to opportunities such as the Smart Farm Practice Farm in Mosonmagyaróvár or the technology and knowledge offered by Mobilis in Győr.

Dr. Viktória Vona, Research Fellow of the Faculty, emphasized that the university's training is a response to the challenges of modern agriculture and digitisation. "A good example of this is that for the seventh year running we have a large number of students in the precision agriculture engineering programme, and this year we are launching - for the first time in the country - the precision animal husbandry and animal nutrition programme. Practice-oriented education is supported by our Smart Farm, where we have developed precision farming and automated, data-driven production management," she underlined. She added that the farm, apart from providing an ideal practical space for their training, contributes to the research activities of the teachers and students.

At the opening ceremony of the event, Dr. Viktória Vona, research associate of the Széchenyi IStván University's Albert Kázmér Faculty of Mosonmagyaróvár, Dr. Zoltán Drucskó, secretary of the executive cabinet of IKR Agrár Ltd.., Dr. Tamás Tóth, dean of the faculty and Rudolf Csiszár, director of the Veres Péter Agricultural and Food Technology Secondary Vocational School and Dormitory in Győr welcomed the participants.

Dr. Zoltán Drucskó, secretary of the executive cabinet of IKR Agrár Kft., one of the golden degree sponsors of the event, explained that IKR and Agrotec Hungary Kft. launched a popular optional course called "Precision Production in a Large Enterprise Environment" at the university in March. He emphasised that this is also a contribution to the institution's efforts to provide the sector with professionals who are able to respond to future challenges and have both theoretical and practical knowledge.

Benedek Czuppon, a fourth-year agricultural engineering student, is a regular participant in the Digital Agricultural Fair. "As a student, this programme is important for me because it gives me the opportunity to meet a number of companies with an agricultural profile, where I could later find a job. At many of the stands there are fellow students who have already graduated, which gives an extra motivation," he remarked. As he said, the Agrarian Forum covers topical issues that are essential knowledge for agricultural graduates.

Agricultural engineering student Benedek Czuppon visits the exhibition and conference every year (Photo: András Adorján)

At the event, Dr. Viktória Vona, who won the title of Agriculturalist of the Future on the Agriculturalist of the Year competition, was presented with a commemorative certificate. Károly Vranovics, Director of the Agricultural Technology Division of AlphaVet Kft., was also honoured for his active support. The awards were presented by Dean Dr. Tamás Tóth and Zsolt Kovács-Csombor, President of the Farmers' Association of Óvár.

The professional programme of the day focused on digitisation for agriculture and smart farms of the future, and the exhibition was not only a platform for businesses to present their products, but also an excellent opportunity for dialogue between the agricultural professionals of today and tomorrow.

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