The fair was opened with an address by the head of the Slovenian Countryside Youth Association, Rok Damijan, who said that new generations of farmers could be built only if they were aware of their roots.

"We are a generation which lacks nothing. We have everything and everything is possible to achieve. The roots are our homes, families, farms. We will not change our roots and we cannot change our roots, but we can change our mindset," he said.

As the new common agricultural policy of the EU is being drafted, Damijan regretted that there was no representative of the European Commission at the event, who would see in person what Slovenian agriculture is like.

The former agriculture minister and current parliamentary Speaker Dejan Židan said that the voice of young farmers was important at the current moment, as the nature and circumstances were changing.

He added that "agriculture needs to survive and will survive, which is why it must be more innovative, more self-confident, more courageous. All these are virtues that are so characteristic of young farmers."

Židan, who believes that Slovenia has managed to make a positive turnaround in agriculture, praised the EU accession efforts of the partner country Macedonia. He promised Slovenia's support and noted that agriculture would not be neglected in parliament.

Macedonian Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy Ljupčo Nikolovski said that his country wanted to join the EU as soon as possible, which would be positive for its agriculture.

The head of the Cooperatives' Association, Peter Vrisk, and the president of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, Cvetko Zupančič, stressed that Slovenia's future agricultural policy needed to improve the situation of farmers, and that agriculture must become more economical.