Sándor Farkas, state secretary at the ministry of agriculture, opened the 33rd Farmer Expo, an annual international exhibition and fair of agricultural producers, in Debrecen, in eastern Hungary. In his opening address, the state secretary said the government would “stand by farmers in all situations and seek dialogue with them.” Farkas said rural development projects until 2027 would benefit from nearly 2,900 billion forints (EUR 7.3bn) in European Union funding and “an outstandingly high proportion of co-payment” from domestic coffers. The programme facilitates “the highest form of assistance so far for rural development, farmers, and food producers,” he added.