A Móra Ferenc Múzeum Évkönyve: Studia Ethnographica 6. (Szeged, 2008)

Fodor Ferenc: Adatok a martonosi paprikatermesztés történetéhez

Data on the History of Paprika Cultivation in Martonos by FERENC FODOR The settlement of Martonos (today Martonos, in Serbia) is situated to the south of Szeged on the River Tisza. According to the census of 2002 the population of the village was 2183, out of which 87% was of Hungarian nationality. In the first decade of the 20

m century the cultivation of red paprika played a significant role in this part of the country. The settlement of Röszke, being located close to Martonos, influenced to a great extent the development of paprika cultivation in the village. The first paprika growers settling in Martonos also came from Röszke. Elderly informants still remember the names of these families. Consequently, the traditional technology of paprika growing in Martonos was similar to that of Szeged and its surroundings. However, after the Trianon Peace Treaty in 1920 Martonos and the neighbouring settlement, Horgos (today Horgos, in Serbia) constituted an independent region. The changes in trading opportunities also affected the volume of cultivation. Due to high quality technologies used in domestic industry, growers could also market their product. They ground the paprika in electric mills equipped with a pair of stones. The farmers grew raw material themselves. Nonetheless, due to the increasing amount of exhausted land, the effectiveness of cultivation decreased significantly. In the 1990s the market demand for red pepper increased in Serbia. As an effect, modern industrial plants with greater efficiency were built with state and EU support. These plants meet the food industry standards of the European Union, thus paprika is marketed also within the European Union. Raw material is produced by growers bound by contract. As a result, farmers of the neighbouring villages have also started producing red pepper, this way enlarging the paprika growing region of Martonos-Horgos.