The Agrokomplex exhibition in the western city of Nitra marked its 50th anniversary with a gala attended by President Peter Pellegrini, concerts, roundtable discussions and displays of farming machinery and livestock. Agriculture Minister Richard Takáč, a close ally of Prime Minister Robert Fico in the ruling Smer party, hailed it as the grandest edition yet. One deal worth €906,000 for the ministry’s own exhibition space fell just under the threshold requiring a public tender (€923,000). Fico has warned of the need to consolidate public finances and has already raised taxes and social security contributions. To cap the celebrations, the cabinet pledged a further €1 million to modernise the state-owned exhibition centre, built in the 1970s and 80s.