The Hungarian government is committed to supporting young farmers and the development of agriculture

(Photo: AM/István Fekete)

The Deputy State Secretary reminded that in 2014, in memory of the fall of the Iron Curtain and the Berlin Wall in 1989, the “Peace Bread” initiative was established in Germany with the participation of Central and Eastern European countries. Hungary could take over the presidency of the movement from Germany in October 2024, for the second time. This year’s event will be hosted by Szarvas, where agricultural vocational training has been taking place for more than 125 years. Today, the city is one of the workshops of agricultural knowledge in the Carpathian Basin, where practical knowledge, tradition and research coexist. Here, practice also shows what kind of impetus can be given if the resources of educational institutions of a region, development needs and the needs of economic actors are coordinated. He highlighted that food sovereignty, food security, rural lifestyle and the future of agriculture are facing a serious challenge. The European Commission has proposed to transform the system of agricultural subsidies and reduce resources. However, it depends on agricultural subsidies whether there will be sufficient quality and quantity of reliable food, whether the countryside remains livable and whether the environment remains sustainable. The subsidy system is the guarantee of the predictable future of the agricultural sector. Therefore, Hungary will use all means to protect the competitiveness of farmers and the subsidies due to them. – Oszkár Ökrös highlighted in his speech.

The Deputy Secretary of State also emphasized that involving young people in agriculture is a common European cause, as demonstrated by the Peace Bread Initiative conference

He assessed the good practices presented at the event as helping to strengthen the competitiveness of European agriculture and the commitment to peace. The countryside holds enormous potential in terms of sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, and community engagement. The Hungarian government provides priority support for the development of agriculture and increasing its competitiveness, paying particular attention to the economic, social, and cultural strengthening of the countryside. Under the Hungarian Village Program, the state has spent approximately HUF 1,300 billion since 2019 on the development of small settlements, improving living standards, renovating nurseries, kindergartens, and playgrounds, developing local health services, and supporting local communities. In addition, programs to encourage the relaunch of small businesses in villages have also been launched, and the development of small settlement shops also receives priority support. Thanks to these efforts, families with small children are now choosing small settlements as their home in a greater proportion than big cities, the Deputy Secretary of State highlighted. He explained that grain has been a message of survival and the future for thousands of years, and bread is the tangible manifestation of peace. There are plenty of challenges in agriculture, but all difficulties can be overcome if the goals and efforts are shared, if everyone understands the message of the Peace Bread initiative, that without agriculture and the countryside there is no lasting peace and prosperity.

Oszkár Ökrös drew attention to the symbolism of peace and bread at the end of the event

“Peace and bread, the two together symbolize what every nation and generation calls the same thing in its own language: life.” He symbolically handed over the European Bread of Peace and the next chairmanship of the “Bread of Peace” program to Nikolay Panayotov, Minister Plenipotentiary of the Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, in the Old Church in Szarvas.

AM