Hungary, Determined to Grow Sorghum

Miklos Fazekas is general manager of Alfaseed, a family-owned seed company. He is also a member of VSZT, Hungary’s association of seed producers, which will be one of the organizers of the European Sorghum Conference due to take place in Budapest between October 8^th and 9^th, 2025. Miklos Fazekas told us why sorghum is important for his country and the reasons why VSZT decided to take part in the conference.

What is the role of VSZT?

VSZT stands for the Hungarian Association of Seed Production. It is a non-profit organization made up of both individuals and legal entities working in the seed industry. Its 1220 members work for companies of various sizes, specialized in various fields. They include breeders, growers, seed production companies, traders, processors, and others. As an interprofessional organization, we gather together all the actors in the seed industry and communicate closely with every one of them, no matter the crop: onions, sunflowers, sorghum or corn, and all the way from small packages to large seed lots for export that require certification. Our main goal is to secure the supply of certified seed to all producers. On the other hand, our mission is to also help advance variety selection/breeding work towards the development of more sustainable hybrids.

Where does sorghum stand in Hungary, today?

Sorghum plays an increasingly important role in our rotations. A few years ago, farmers would only add it to their rotations to supplement their production of grain or feed. Since then, things have evolved; sorghum has become more and more popular, because of the problematic weather conditions in recent years. The climate change, marked by strong summer droughts and a sharp decline in rainfalls have driven farmers to look for crops that are more tolerant to all these stressors and the first one on the list is sorghum. The country’s total sorghum area went from 5000 hectares in 2015 to 45 000 hectares in 2024. Its feed sorghum area has reached 12 000 hectares. The areas may still continue to grow as their outlets develop. Among the factors that limit sorghum expansion are the competition of corn, which is grown on much wider areas and the disrupting impact of Ukraine’s exports to the EU.

What does seed sorghum production represent, today?

Hungary is one of the largest sorghum seed producers in the EU, with an area that stands at 1000 hectares, in 2024. Its seed market isn’t mature yet, but the industry has made real progress, year after year. The farmers’ technical know-how is also evolving. In five years, we should reach a new level of maturity.

What are the sorghum outlets in your country?

Sorghum is used as both food and feed, but the feed outlet remains the most significant, especially in the swine and poultry industries. On the other hand, sorghum remains unknown to many consumers. However, although sorghum grains are not part of the traditional Hungarian cuisine, new recipes have appeared that include it as an ingredient. As the incidence of gluten allergies has been growing fast in this country, the arrival of sorghum on our plates might provide a solution to a lot of Hungarians.

In your opinion, what is the growth potential of sorghum, in Hungary?

I think that our sorghum area could easily reach 100 000 hectares, if processing sectors such as the methane industry used more of this crop. Another obstacle that we need to remove is the unavailability of the equipment needed to dry and store harvested crops. Sorghum is harvested at the same time with corn and sunflower – which are two important crops, in Hungary. Not all our equipment has the right capacity to accommodate large quantities at the same time.

In 2025, your country will host the European Sorghum Conference, between October 8^th and 9^th, in Budapest. What are your expectations in that regard?

VSZT will indeed be one of the organizers of this important international agricultural event. We are very excited by the prospect of hosting representatives from various countries. The two days will allow us to share more on the agronomic advantages of sorghum and its food/feed outlets. We will of course present the good production results that we have had in recent years, as well as the new development opportunities for this crop in our country.