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
Mihály Petrovics
Group Leader
Mihály Petrovics is a senior IT expert with more than 25 years of experience in the design, development and operation of complex information systems. He has played a key role in the creation of systems such as the Agricultural Statistical Information System, the Market Price Information System and the Farm Accountancy Data Network, contributing directly to their development and ongoing operation.
His expertise covers the full lifecycle of information systems—from infrastructure and network design through application development and cybersecurity to the formulation of business logic. He also has extensive experience in ensuring regulatory compliance, as well as in organizing and supporting IT training programs.
His goal is to develop reliable, secure and long‑term sustainable IT solutions that effectively support the organization’s operations.
Head of IT Operations Group
László Barnafi
Group Leader
With more than 20 years of experience, László Barnafi possesses extensive practical knowledge in the operation, maintenance, and troubleshooting of hardware and software systems. Throughout his career, he has worked in both small and large enterprise environments, dealing with servers, networks, workstations, and ensuring the continuous availability of business-critical systems.
Head of Publications Group
Dr. Kriszta Temesváry
Group Leader
Dr. Kriszta Temesváry has more than twenty-five years of professional experience in corporate and institutional communications. Her key areas of expertise include mindset shaping, as well as the design and implementation of complex communication strategies.
As a Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, she combines hands-on practical experience with a solid scientific background. Throughout her career, she has played a key role in developing educational programmes and implementing nationwide awareness-raising campaigns.
She spent twelve years working in a communications agency environment, where she was responsible for managing the strategic communications of numerous corporate clients, with a particular emphasis on corporate social responsibility programmes. She later gained experience in the public sector as well, which enabled her to approach communication challenges with a complex, cross-sectoral perspective.
Her professional competencies include strategic communication planning, protocol-related tasks in event organisation, campaign management, developing stakeholder collaboration, and the clear and effective communication of scientific results to broader audiences.
Head of Procurement and Event Management Group
Eszter Grosz
Group Leader
Eszter Grosz graduated in 2010 from the Faculty of Education and Psychology of Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) with a degree in Andragogy. In 2016, she obtained her Master’s degree from the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies at BKF.
She began her professional career at the Ministry of Rural Development as an intern of the Public Administration Scholarship Program (MKÖ) launched in 2011. As part of the program, she worked for six months as an intern at the Directorate General for Research and Education (DGER) of the French Ministry of Agriculture in Paris. After this period, she continued her career in the SME sector, where she mainly worked on the implementation of education-focused and Erasmus+ projects.
In 2017, she joined the Research Institute of Agricultural Economics, where she performed duties as Deputy Head of Secretariat and was responsible for event organization. She was actively involved in establishing the operational processes of the Procurement unit launched in 2021. From 2021, she has been working as a procurement manager, and from May 2026 she is team leader of the Procurement and Event Management Group.
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 Development and Operations Directorate
Mr. Szilveszter Palotay
Director
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 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
Mónika Bojtárné Lukácsik
Head of Department
Mónika Bojtárné Lukácsik has almost 25 years of professional experience. For more than 15 years, she has been a member and later on deputy head of AKI’s Department of Statistics. She will coordinate tasks concerning the fisheries sector in the future. Her main tasks are preparation of analyses, informative publications, evaluation of domestic and international literature and statistical data, publication of scientific results, participation at conferences, expert meetings. She has been involved in the development of the fisheries operational programs, the determination and evaluation of key indicators. She is a member of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) Expert Group, the Hungarian Fisheries Operational Program (MAHOP) Monitoring Committee, and head of the data collection program on the aquaculture sector (DCF). She acts as a liaison between the decision-makers of the sector, the fish producers, and other actors and representatives of the sector. She considers meeting of theory and practice to be important, thus supporting information provisions that establish policy decisions. In 2016, she received a Diploma of Ministerial Recognition for her outstanding professional work.
Head of Innovation and Digitalisation Support Unit
Lívia Kránitz
Group Leader, Lead Expert
Lívia Kránitz is a Lead Expert of the Social Research Department of the Sustainability Research Directorate of the AKI. Prior to joining AKI, she worked for the Ministry of Agriculture, where she was involved in innovation and research management for many years, participated in the development of the Hungarian Rural Development Programme (2014-2020), including the designing of the EIP measure, and was a founding member of the BIOEAST Initiative. She is currently involved in the implementation of several Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe research projects to support the development of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS). She graduated at the Szent István University of Gödöllő.
Head of Financial Operations Department
Ivó Osztrogonácz
Financial Director
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 Facilities 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 and tax advisor. He obtained his qualifications as a certified accountant and tax advisor through the Chamber of Hungarian Auditors. In his thesis, he examined the specific financial and operational characteristics of nonprofit organizations, which laid the foundation for his professional interest in the sector.
Since 2021, he has been working as a Financial Advisor at AKI Nonprofit Ltd. His responsibilities include supporting business planning, preparing data for financial reporting, reconciling tax and accounting records, and coordinating the organization’s day-to-day financial operations.
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.
Head of Evaluation Coordination Unit
