Support of Rural Areas Will Continue in 2026, Says Minister

The strengthening of Hungarian rural areas will continue in 2026, Minister of Agriculture István Nagy announced on his Facebook page on Saturday.

In his video, the minister said that the development of Hungarian villages will not stop in 2026, but will actually accelerate. The strengthening of rural Hungary will continue thanks to the Hungarian Village Program.

Since the initiative was launched in 2019, the state has spent approximately HUF 1,300 billion (EUR 3,4 million; EUR 1 = HUF 384) on the development of small settlements.

“Let us not forget that the Hungarian countryside is capable of preserving its traditions and adapting to the challenges of the future at the same time,” he said. The Hungarian Village Program has set itself the goal of ensuring that the quality of life in all small settlements in Hungary is at least as good as in cities, he said, adding that living in the countryside is good, Hungarian villages and small towns are safe, and, last but not least, we can find small but close-knit communities there.

Among the program’s measures for 2025, István Nagy highlighted the rural CSOK subsidy (rural family home-creation allowance), helping rural families buy homes, has also been in high demand.

Since the initiative was introduced, almost 54,000 applications have been accepted, worth a total of HUF 324 billion. In addition, the rural CSOK subsidy can now be combined with the Home Start program. Several calls for applications have been published, he said, and the results have also been announced.

Local governments were able to apply for more than HUF 10 billion for the renovation and construction of roads, bridges, and crosswalks, he said. Thanks to the program and the rural road fund, HUF 10 billion was spent last year on the renovation of secondary roads throughout the country.

According to the minister’s briefing, rural civil organizations also received HUF 5 billion in support in 2025, bringing the total amount of support received under the Hungarian Village Program to more than HUF 28 billion.

Municipalities were also able to apply for funding for the development of real estate and the purchase of equipment to assist in the performance of municipal tasks, with more than HUF 10 billion allocated for this purpose in 2025, he said.

István Nagy said in the video: “Unlike the Tisza Party, pets are important to us.” Last year, a call for applications was announced to promote responsible animal husbandry, with nearly 400 successful applicants for a total budget of half a billion forints.

The government increased the budget for the first call for proposals aimed at modernizing public lighting, so that all applicants, nearly 1,250 municipalities, can benefit from more than HUF 22 billion in funding, he said. Hundreds of village churches can be renovated as part of the church renovation program.

A total of more than 3,350 small shops in 1,918 municipalities received operating subsidies totaling approximately HUF 10 billion,

he said.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, “the best news of the year” was that two new tenders worth HUF 20 billion were announced for the purchase of real estate and equipment to assist local governments in performing their tasks, as well as for the renovation of roads, bridges, and sidewalks. Applications can be submitted from mid-January.

Our homeland is therefore full of opportunities that, with perseverance and dedication, will bear fruit and become valuable. That is why the national government’s policy is always based on strengthening rural areas, István Nagy emphasized.

Via MTI; Featured image: Pixabay

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