Chances are, if rain skips your lawn for a couple of weeks, the worst you have to worry about is browning grass and maybe a few dying plants. But for farmers, when it skips their fields for a season, they have to start thinking about which bills they will put off. And in many cases, whether they'll be able to keep their farms.
This is the brutal reality in Hungary's Homokhátság region, where soil once rich and fertile has become cracked and lifeless.
According to Reuters, farmers between the Tisza and Danube Rivers are facing a drought so severe that some are debating leaving the land or switching careers. The Hungarian meteorological service recently warned that soil in central Hungary is still "critically dry" despite recent rains. Corn, sunflower, and grain crops are wilting.
Krisztian Kisjuhasz, a fifth-generation beekeeper in Ladánybene, usually brings his bees home in July to prepare for winter. This year, he loaded them up in the middle of the night and drove more than 80 kilometers to the Tisza floodplain so they could reach pollen.
"Last year, 30% of our bees died mainly because there was not enough pollen due to the drought. … They were not strong enough for the winter," he told Reuters. The trip added fuel costs, which he says will push up honey prices.
In Jászszentlászló, farmer Csaba Toldi said his grasslands were a loss for the first time. "Water needs to be returned to the Homokhátság region, either through channels or water retention, otherwise this area will completely dry out," he said. Kisjuhasz told Reuters, "There is no future."
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In 2022, drought caused $2.9 billion in agricultural losses and pushed Hungarian inflation to its highest level in two decades. The government has pledged funds to clean canals and hold more water, but Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said the measures will only "alleviate the damage" rather than stop it.
When farmland dries out, crop failures ripple through supply chains, raising food prices for everyone. Severe droughts happen naturally, but scientists say rising global temperatures are making them more frequent and intense.
Some farmers are testing drought-resistant methods such as "dry farming," which uses crops that adapt to less irrigation, though falling groundwater can limit results. Tools including artificial intelligence-powered watering sensors and cooperative water-sharing agreements look to make agriculture more resilient.
Small changes help. Buying local produce, cutting food waste, and supporting markets that source from drought-hit areas can keep farms going when the weather doesn't.
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