Zoltán Bács, Rector of the University of Debrecen, and Endre Harsányi, Vice-Rector for Sectoral Development, held talks with senior officials from the state of Nebraska, including Secretary of State Robert Evnen, Deputy Secretary of State Cindi Allen, and László Búza, State Secretary for Food Economy, Trade and Food Literacy at the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Economy. The meeting focused on further expanding the university’s network of relations in the United States and exploring new opportunities for cooperation in education, research and innovation.
Hungary and Nebraska, a state in the Midwestern United States, face a number of similar agricultural and climate-related challenges. Increasingly frequent periods of drought, extreme temperature conditions and growing uncertainty over precipitation patterns are highlighting the importance of modern water management and sustainable agricultural solutions in both regions. The experts agreed that knowledge-based cooperation, research and technological innovation could provide effective responses to these challenges.
“One of the key topics during the American delegation’s visit to Hungary was agricultural knowledge transfer and adaptation to climate change. Based on the discussions with representatives of the state of Nebraska and Associate Professor Saleh Taghvaeian of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, cooperation between our institutions could offer significant opportunities for joint research projects, student and faculty mobility programmes, as well as the mutual sharing of expertise in irrigation development, plant breeding, soil science and precision agriculture,” Vice-Rector Endre Harsányi told hirek.unideb.hu.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Economy is also playing an active role in strengthening these ties. Nebraska and Hungary plan to launch concrete, practice-oriented cooperation in several strategic areas of agriculture, including precision farming, irrigation development, research into drought-resistant crop varieties, soil health and agricultural digitalisation. The initiatives are intended not only to strengthen research and innovation partnerships but also to open up new opportunities for Hungarian agricultural and food industry players in the Nebraska market.
(unideb.hu)
