Zdeněk Nekula is the last appointed member of Petr Fiala's government. He could not be sworn in on the original December date because of contracting COVID-19. Prime Minister Petr Fiala inducted him into the office which was handed over to him by both the previous agriculture minister Miroslav Toman and the current Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Marian Jurečka who was assigned by the President to temporarily lead the ministry during Zdeněk Nekula's illness.

"I am glad that I had the opportunity to induct the new Minister of Agriculture Zdeněk Nekula at the Ministry of Agriculture. It is important because our new government is now complete, we have overcome all obstacles arising from COVID-19 in this case, and now we can all work at full capacity," said Prime Minister Petr Fiala.

According to the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Agriculture is an extraordinarily important ministry whose work is felt every day by every person in the Czech Republic as it determines the quality of food as well as the environment and the quality of the countryside we live in.

"The challenges ahead of the new minister are great. They are also linked to the fact that we will preside over the European Union this year. In the next days, we need to address some issues concerning the strategic plan that will affect the agricultural policy in the next seven years. It will be necessary to decide some key matters such as ceilings for agricultural subsidies or the amount of support for the first hectares and many other specific issues," said Prime Minister Fiala who, on the occasion of swearing in the new minister, also thanked his predecessors for their work.

The Prime Minister pointed out the fact that Zdeněk Nekula is an agricultural expert and has the needed experience in management and politics. "He is a person who knows about agriculture, who has been professionally involved in agriculture for a long time and has work experience from the Ministry of Agriculture. He is also a person who is experienced in local and regional politics, so he has all the prerequisites for dealing successfully with this uneasy agenda and all the challenges," the Prime Minister summed up.