Characteristics of human capital among people employed in Hungarian agriculture after the EU accession

A high decline in employment was one of the negative consequences of economic transformation in Hungary in the past few decades. The activity of rural population continues to decrease in the EU. Agriculture has a very special role in forming the employment. The aim of the research is to examine chararcteristics, trends, changes of qualification and skills of employees working in Hungarian agriculture in the period from accessing to the EU till nowadays. The education of employees in agriculture despite of distinct improvement is still low. The majority of producers manage their company with only practical experience or even without it. The lack of sufficient expertise makes farmers be less receptive to innovative solutions, insist more on production methods based on their previous experience, thereby inhibiting popularisation of the modern, competitive technologies. For the competitive and efficient agricultural production, the human capital, appropriate skills and educational attainments are essential, they can help the agricultural sector to catch up with the more developed West.