Hungarian agricultural economics institute specializing in CAP policy analysis, bioeconomy transitions, and rural innovation across Central and Eastern Europe.
AKI is Hungary's agricultural economics research institute, focused on policy analysis, rural development strategy, and the economics of farming systems across Central and Eastern Europe. They specialize in translating research findings into actionable agricultural policy recommendations, particularly around the Common Agricultural Policy and bioeconomy transitions. Their work bridges the gap between farmers, policymakers, and innovation networks — analyzing what works in agri-environmental schemes, digital farming adoption, and circular bioeconomy strategies for the CEE region.
Core contributor to LIAISON (rural innovation policy), EFFECT (agri-environmental contracts), SHERPA (rural policy engagement), and EURAKNOS/Eureka (knowledge systems for agriculture).
Active in BIOEASTsUP (BIOEAST circular bioeconomy strategy), POWER4BIO (regional bioeconomy potential), and BIKE (low-ILUC biofuels value chains).
Participated in SmartAgriHubs (digital innovation hubs for agriculture) and knowledge platform work in Eureka.
FARMWELL (farmer wellbeing through social innovation) and LIAISON (social innovation in rural development) signal growing interest in the human side of agricultural change.
EURAKNOS and Eureka focused on building knowledge repositories and e-platforms for agricultural best practices, with emphasis on open access and end-user engagement.
AKI's early H2020 work (2018-2019) centered on agricultural innovation policy — the mechanics of how the CAP works, digital innovation hubs for farming, and connecting rural actors through networks. From 2019 onward, their focus shifted toward bioeconomy, circular economy, and sustainability themes, with a stronger Central-Eastern European (BIOEAST) regional identity. Most recently, they added a social dimension with projects on farmer wellbeing and citizen participation in rural policy, suggesting a broadening from pure economics toward socio-economic research.
AKI is moving from traditional agricultural policy analysis toward integrated sustainability research that combines bioeconomy transitions with social dimensions like farmer wellbeing and participatory governance — a strong fit for Horizon Europe's food system missions.
AKI operates exclusively as a consortium partner or third party — they have never coordinated an H2020 project, which is typical for national research institutes contributing regional expertise to larger European networks. With 240 unique partners across 29 countries from just 10 projects, they participate in large, multi-actor consortia (averaging 24+ partners per project). This makes them a well-connected but non-leading contributor — easy to integrate into large proposals where CEE agricultural economics expertise is needed.
AKI has built an extensive network of 240 partners across 29 countries through participation in large coordination and support actions. Their reach spans nearly all of the EU, with particular strength in Central and Eastern European agricultural research networks through the BIOEAST initiative.
AKI offers something rare: agricultural economics expertise rooted specifically in Central and Eastern European farming realities, where farm structures, policy challenges, and bioeconomy potential differ significantly from Western Europe. Their dual strength in both hard policy analysis (CAP instruments, agri-environmental payments) and softer participatory approaches (multi-actor networks, citizen engagement) makes them a versatile partner. For any consortium needing credible CEE agricultural policy input — especially around bioeconomy transitions or CAP implementation — AKI is one of the go-to institutes in Hungary.
