Debrecen4U September 9, 2025

This year ÖKO Expo is held in Debrecen

The National Chamber of Agriculture is organizing the ÖKO Expo Exhibition and Conference for the sixth time, which this year is hosted by the Innovation Center of the University of Debrecen. The two-day professional event that started today aims to facilitate the exchange of experiences among organic farmers. Öko Expo also provides an opportunity for players in the sector to discuss the challenges facing organic farming and learn about the latest sustainable agricultural technologies.

The 2025 ÖKO Expo started with presentations at the Innovation Center of the University of Debrecen. Organic farmers and experts discussed the future of sustainable organic farming and the production of healthy food.

“What we eat affects our life prospects, lifespan and quality of life by approximately 60 percent. The genetics that we bring with us are something we really can’t change, that’s 30 percent. The remaining 10 percent is what we wear, where we live, what kind of car we drive, and generally what surrounds us. In comparison, I think Hungarian society spends a significant portion of its daily spending on this 10 percent. This also shows the direction of what we should pay attention to,” emphasized Tibor Szólláth, county president of the National Chamber of Agriculture.

Agriculture has to face numerous challenges, including climate change. The president of the National Chamber of Agriculture spoke about this at ÖKO Expo. Zsolt Papp said that, “Currently in Hungary, environmentally conscious farming is practiced on almost 400 thousand hectares and in addition, there are approximately 2 million hectares out of 5 million, or 40 percent of the total area involved in agriculture, which is already represented in environmentally conscious farming, where everyday farming is carried out according to strict rules and with limited use of pesticides and fertilizers. I think this is a first step, and the different sectoral actors can fit in well together.”

At the event, representatives of organic farms will exchange experiences with each other at the stands, while consumers will be shown how the process of organic production takes place in everyday life.

“It is very important that we can learn about and raise awareness of what organic farming is at a young age. We can see a lot of young people here from schools and universities. The other is that as many people as possible get involved in this topic during their college and university studies. In addition, it is of course also very important that we, as a research institute, continue research that is useful for practicing farmers,” said Éva Borbélyné Hunyadi, research group leader of the Organic Agriculture Research Institute.

On today’s opening day of the two-day ÖKO Expo, lectures were held or will be held in three sections. Among other things, the topics discussed were soil life, sales opportunities and issues related to climate protection, as well as dual vocational training opportunities related to organic farming.

Source and photo credit:dehir.hu