HU
Managing Director
Dr. Pál Goda
Managing Director
Dr. Pál Goda is an agricultural economist and the Managing Director of the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). He is a prominent expert in Hungarian agricultural research and rural development. Throughout his professional career, he has worked in both international and national settings, gaining significant experience as a researcher, educator, and leader.
He completed his studies in the Netherlands at CAH Dronten University, where he earned a BSc degree in International Rural Development and Innovation. Later he continued his education at Szent István University, where he obtained an MSc and subsequently a PhD degree in agricultural economics. His doctoral research focused on rural development systems and agricultural innovation.
Since 2008, he has been actively involved in university education in both Hungarian and English, delivering lectures on agricultural economics, rural development, and innovation, and he also regularly supervises theses and doctoral research. His academic and research work has primarily focused on agricultural digitalization, the sustainability of food chains, and the economic impacts of climate change on agriculture.
His scientific work focuses on the study of development policy, agricultural innovation, and sustainable agricultural systems. He has participated in numerous national and international projects, and his publications regularly appear in prestigious academic journals.
Since 2012, he worked as a research director and executive manager, gaining substantial experience in the practical application of research results, and promoting knowledge transfer. In 2019, he was appointed Director of the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics, and later became the Managing Director of its legal successor, the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI).
Dr. Pál Goda is dedicated to enhancing the competitiveness of Hungarian agriculture and the food industry, promoting innovation and digitalization, and advancing sustainable development. He is the author of numerous professional publications, studies, and conference presentations, and is also a regular participant in national and international professional forums.
Head of Information Systems Development Group
Mr. Szilveszter Palotay
Deputy Director, IT Consultant
Szilveszter Palotay is a senior IT expert with substantial expertise in the design, development, operation, and analysis of complex information systems.
He has extensive experience in the development and maintenance of IT systems, with a particular focus on systems such as the Market Price Information System, the Agricultural Statistical Information System, and the Farm Accountancy Data Network. Over the course of his more than two-decade career, Szilveszter Palotay has acquired comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical experience in the implementation of the full lifecycle of information systems. His areas of expertise include the design and integration of data and communication networks, hardware infrastructure, the development of basic software and applications, cybersecurity, business logic development, creation of physical IT environments, ensuring legal compliance, and the organization and delivery of IT-related training programs.
Head of Publications Group
Máté Kis
Director
Máté Kis is an economist with experience in agriculture, and software and rural development. Previously, he was responsible for planning and the operational management of agricultural innovation and IT projects. He contributed to the strategic planning of the development for the agricultural innovation broker training methodology in East Central Europe, the implementation of which he full supervised. He was the leader of the research exploring digital maturity of agricultural producers, which laid the foundations for the Digital Agricultural Strategy. He has been responsible for the efficient and coordinated operation of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) since 2019.
Head of Agricultural Economics and Information Systems Directorate
Dr. Norbert Potori
Director
Norbert Potori is the Head of the Agricultural Economics and Information Systems Directorate at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). His main areas of expertise include EU and Hungarian agricultural policy, policy impact assessments, the economics of agricultural sectors, international agricultural commodity markets, futures markets for crops and market analysis. He holds a PhD in Management and Business from Corvinus University of Budapest.
Head of Sustainability Research Directorate
Dr. Katalin Rácz
Director
Katalin Rácz is the Head of the Sustainability Research Directorate at the the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). Her main areas of expertise include producer cooperation systems and networks, social and regional changes in rural areas, labor market processes characteristic of the agricultural and rural economy, and rural poverty. She graduated in Sociology from the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Debrecen and later obtained her PhD from the Doctoral School of Sociology at the same university. She has been an elected member of the Interdisciplinary Committee on Agricultural History and Rural Sociology of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences since 2021, and its vice-chair since 2024.
Head of Southern Transdanubia Regional Directorate
Annamária Stier-Kovács
Regional Director
Annamária Stier-Kovács has been supporting the work of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) as a contractor for many years within the framework of the Test Farm Data System, processing farm-level accounting and production data of agricultural test farms, as well as sectoral cost and income data. She graduated with a degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Kaposvár. She is the Head of the Southern Transdanubia Regional Directorate at AKI.
Head of Central Hungary Regional Directorate
István Temesi
Regional Director
István Temesi graduated as an agricultural plant engineer from the University of Kaposvár, his qualification as a certified accountant enabled him to participate in the work of agricultural test farms in Hungary for many years, and he still continues this work as the Central Hungary Regional Director of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI).
Head of Eastern Hungary Regional Directorate
Dr. Sándor Eszenyi
Regional Director
Dr. Sándor Eszenyi, certified agricultural engineer, has been involved in the data collection and processing work of FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) since 1996. Since 2024 he has been the Head of the Eastern Hungary Regional Directorate at AKI. The Regional Directorate covers 7 counties in the North Hungarian and the Alföld regions.
Head of Directorate of Operations
Máté Kis
Director
Máté Kis is an economist with experience in agriculture, and software and rural development. Previously, he was responsible for planning and the operational management of agricultural innovation and IT projects. He contributed to the strategic planning of the development for the agricultural innovation broker training methodology in East Central Europe, the implementation of which he full supervised. He was the leader of the research exploring digital maturity of agricultural producers, which laid the foundations for the Digital Agricultural Strategy. He has been responsible for the efficient and coordinated operation of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) since 2019.
Head of Secretariat
Csilla Fodor
Head of Secretariat
Csilla Fodor joined the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) in April 2025 as the Head of the Secretariat. She is responsible for managing the Executive Secretariat and supporting the daily operations of the executive team. Before joining the Institute, she built her professional career in the private sector, gaining extensive experience in secretarial and procurement roles at a French-owned multinational building materials manufacturing company. She also acquired production planning expertise in a German multinational corporate environment. She holds a degree in economics.
Head of Agricultural Statistics Department
Edit Demeter
Head of Department, Lead Expert
Edit Demeter is the Head of the Agricultural Statistics Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). She has a university degree in economics and more than 30 years of statistical experience. She started her career at the Hungarian Central Statistical Office working on voluntary population and mandatory agricultural statistics, where she participated in the censuses (General Agricultural Census, Integrated Farm Statistics data collection, Population Census) as a county responsible. Since 2016, she has been responsible for specialized statistics related to the food industry and agriculture.
Head of Market Price Information Department
Dr. Ildikó Stummer
Head of Department, Lead Expert
Ildikó Stummer is the Head of the Market Price Information Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) and has been working with the operation, coordination and development of the market price information systems since 2000. She has experience in planning and implementing agricultural IT development projects. She holds a PhD in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Horticulture and Food Industry in Budapest.
Head of Agrieconomic Modelling Department
János Gábor Sávoly
Head of Department, Software Developer
János Gábor Sávoly is the Head of the Agrieconomic Modelling Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). His main areas of expertise include discrete and continuous optimization models, and the practical application of data science methods. He has significant experience in automating data processing and data transformation processes, as well as in developing analytical and decision support systems. His work focuses on the data-based evaluation and support of agricultural policies. He obtained his MSc degree in mathematics from Eötvös Loránd University.
Head of Agricultural Economics Research Department
Dr. Zsuzsa Molnár
Head of Department, Scientific Advisor
Zsuzsa Molnár is the Head of the Agricultural Economics Research Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). Her main areas of expertise include the analysis of the economics of arable crop production and the examination of policy measures related to the sector. She also participates in national and international projects and collaborations aimed at addressing current challenges of the sector, such as regenerative agriculture and the internalisation of externalities. She is a member of the agri benchmark international network of experts, which supports these efforts. She graduated as a certified agricultural engineer and holds a PhD in crop production and horticultural sciences, both from the University of Debrecen.
Head of Agricultural Economic Information Systems Department
Viktor Szili
Head of Department, Researcher
Viktor Szili is the Head of the Agricultural Economic Information System Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) and has been working here since 2014. His main areas of expertise are the operation and development of farm- and sector-level data collection related to the Hungarian subsystem of the FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network), the coordination of other sectoral cost-income data collections, as well as the compilation of analyses and professional materials concerning the profitability of agricultural sectors. He is an active participant in international data collections related to pig farming. He obtained his doctoral degree in 2013 from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Head of Food Chain Research Department
Gyöngyi Jankuné Dr. Kürthy
Deputy Director, Scientific Advisor
Gyöngyi Kürthy is the Deputy Head of the Agricultural Economics Directorate at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) and Head of the Food Chain Research Department of the Directorate. Her main areas of expertise are the analysis of agricultural foreign trade, the assessment of the impacts of trade agreements and the research into the economics and structure of the food chain, with special emphasis on the relationships between food retail and their suppliers, and food waste and losses. She graduated from the Budapest University of Economics as a certified economist and holds a PhD in Economics from the Gödöllő University of Agricultural Sciences. She has participated in several international projects as an expert, consultant or team leader, mainly in the field of organic farming.
Head of Farm-Level Economic Analysis Division
Dr. György Áldorfai
Deputy Head of Department, Researcher
György Áldorfai has been a researcher at the Test Farm Information Department of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) since 2019. His main responsibilities include contributing to analyses of profitability at farm and sectoral levels based on the FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) database, creating models, developing various agricultural calculators (agricultural IT developments), and preparing informational publications. Since obtaining his master’s degrees in rural development engineering and economics, his research has focused primarily on the design and development of methodological models related to rural development. During his three years in higher education as a university assistant lecturer, he continuously improved his knowledge in rural development and gained experience in both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. He earned his PhD in 2021 from the Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Head of Sectoral Level Economic Analysis Division
Péter Marlok
Group Leader, Lead Expert
Péter Marlok is the Head of the Sectoral Level Economic Analysis Division. Since obtaining his degree in general agricultural engineering, he has gained practical experience in several branches of animal husbandry. He has decades of professional experience in the field of livestock breeding supervision in Hungary. He was involved in the development, improvement, and operation of the Hungarian animal identification and registration systems (ENAR – Integrated Identification and Registration System), with a particular focus on managing data transfers related to animal-based subsidies. His main responsibilities include the professional and methodological development of the sectoral data collection systems of AKI, data analysis, and the preparation of reports and other professional materials.
Head of Climate and Environmental Research Department
Csilla Óvári
Head of Department, Lead Expert
Csilla Óvári is the Head of the Climate and Environmental Research Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). Her main area of expertise is the analysis of the environmental and climate change impacts of agriculture. She holds a degree in economics with a specialization in European integration from the University of Szeged. For over 15 years, she worked at the Ministry of Agriculture, where she contributed to the development of the national agricultural support system and the preparation of policy decisions. Since 2023, she has been pursuing doctoral studies at the Doctoral School of Regional and Economic Sciences at Széchenyi István University, focusing on agricultural carbon farming.
Head of Financial Research Department
Dr. Ibolya Lámfalusi
Deputy Director, Scientific Advisor
Ibolya Lámfalusi is the Deputy Head of the Sustainability Research Directorate of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). Her main areas of expertise are taxation, financing, weather risk management and the analysis of the financial situation of agricultural and food businesses. She graduated from the Faculty of Economics of the University of Miskolc with a specialization in Finance and Accounting, and later obtained a PhD in Management and Business Administration from the University of Debrecen. She is a member of the Committee on Agricultural Economics of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Head of Social Research Department
Eszter Hamza
Head of Department, Scientific Advisor
Eszter Hamza is the Head of the Social Research Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). Her main areas of expertise include labor market processes in agriculture and the food industry, agricultural vocational training, generational renewal in farming, and the diversification of agricultural business activities. She has played a significant role as an expert in the planning and evaluation of rural development programs in Hungary since 2002. She graduated as an environmental management agricultural engineer from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Gödöllő and earned her PhD at the Doctoral School of Management and Business from Szent István University.
Head of Aquaculture and Fisheries Analysis Department
Dr. Béla Urbányi
Deputy Director, Scientific Advisor
Béla Urbányi is a university professor and Doctor of Science (DSc) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
He is the Head of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Analysis Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI). He obtained his PhD in the field of freshwater fish reproduction and genetics, and his academic Doctor of Science (DSc) dissertation focused on the topic of aquaculture. His current professional interests focus on the general development of freshwater fish farming, the practical implementation of innovation and R&D results, and the circular and sustainable management of the aquaculture sector.
He has published his research findings in 254 peer-reviewed journal articles, which have received a total of 3,184 independent citations. His Hirsch index is 31, and he is a co-author of 8 utility models. Previously he was the technical manager of two EU projects and is currently the manager of an EU project (DCF). In addition, he has coordinated 40 completed national R&D&I projects.
He is a member of several national and international organizations and regularly participates in expert works both in Hungary and abroad. He is also actively involved in various domestic and international development and innovation projects.
Head of Innovation and Digitalisation Support Unit
Krisztina Magócs
Group Leader, Lead Expert
Krisztina Magócs is the Acting Head of the Innovation and Digitalisation Support Group (ITE). She graduated as an agricultural engineer from the University of Agricultural Sciences in Gödöllő, then obtained a second degree in European Studies from the Budapest University of Economics and Public Administration. Over the past 20 years, she has been involved in the planning of rural development programmes, providing professional policy support and evaluation for their implementation, with a particular focus on LEADER interventions. She has been working at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) since 2022. As a member of ITE and as the Hungarian participant in the modernAKIS and the ATTRACTISS international projects, her main field of expertise is currently the promotion of knowledge transfer and innovation among the agricultural actors.
Head of Financial Operations Department
Ivó Osztrogonácz
Chief Financial Officer
Ivó Osztrogonácz is the Head of the Financial Operations Department. He graduated from Szent István University with a degree in agricultural economics, after which he started his professional career at a bank and an insurance company. He performed controlling tasks as an expert and later as a manager in the field of sales and economics. He acquired the systems approach in a multinational environment. His objective is to provide an appropriate level of service to both internal and external partners, based on the transparent, predictable and efficient operation of the Financial Operations Department.
Head of Facility Management Department
Tamás Andorkó
Head of Department, Facility Manager
Tamás Andorkó has been the Head of the Facility Management Department at the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) since 2024. He holds degrees in engineering management (from the Budapest University of Technology and Economics), economics (from the Budapest Business School), engineering teaching (from the University of Szeged) as well as in procurement management (from the Corvinus University of Budapest). Both his studies and his work experience were diverse, which allowed him to develop a broad perspective, open-mindedness, a customer-focused approach and an ownership approach. He had the opportunity to gain experience in facility and fleet management with several participants in the financial sector. He was responsible for operating the branch network of a multinational bank and the facilities of a background institution, which is critical for business continuity and executes the settlements of the Hungarian monetary market. His aim is to ensure that the Facility Management Department provides the best possible services to its internal customers by managing the available resources, which is one of the pillars of the efficient operation of AKI.
Head of Finance Group
Bernát Gyurcsik
Group Leader, Financial Consultant
Bernát Gyurcsik is an economist with experience in budget management and insight into financial and accounting processes. Throughout his career, he has been involved in the planning, accounting, and monitoring of the financial operations of budgetary institutions. He obtained his certified public accountant qualification from the Chamber of Hungarian Auditors and is currently preparing for his tax advisor exam. His thesis focused on the specific characteristics of the financial management of non-profit organizations. Since 2021, he has been working as a financial advisor at AKI Nonprofit Ltd., where his responsibilities include, among others, supporting business planning, providing data for financial reports, reconciling tax and accounting records, and ensuring the daily financial operations of the organization.
Head of Human Resources Group
Andor Németh
Group Leader, Human Resources Consultant
Andor Németh earned a degree in human resource management from Szent István University. From 2007, he worked as a human resources officer at the Ministry of Finance and the National Authorising Office, and from 2011 he began working at the Hungarian State Treasury. He was involved in the development of the performance evaluation system, in the implementation of organizational development projects, and the performing EU accounting tasks. He joined the Human Resources Group at AKI Nonprofit Ltd. in 2021.
Head of Project Management Group
Katalin Antal
Deputy Head of Department, Senior Consultant
Katalin Antal is the Head of the Project Management Group at AKI and Deputy Head of the Economic Department. She graduated from the Faculty of Animal Science at Kaposvár University with a degree in agribusiness management and holds a certified public accountant qualification. Her career began in 2000 at the Financial Policy Department of the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics, where, as a research associate, she analyzed liquidity and financing processes in agriculture and examined the effects of agricultural subsidies. She also participated in modeling the development of agricultural quotas during the preparation of Hungary’s accession to the European Union. Later, she worked as a senior consultant at a grant writing company, preparing business plans and loan applications, managing and writing tenders, and later held a position as a controller at a company engaged in commercial activities. Since 2016, she has been involved in the planning and implementation of domestic and market-based projects of the Institute of Agricultural Economics (AKI) co-financed by the EU and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture which is the maintaining body, as well as in the operational project management tasks related to project maintenance.