Čengić: Agriculture is on its knees, where did 15 million KM disappear?

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - MP in the FBiH Parliament Irfan Čengić visited the PD Butmir farm in Sarajevo, where a meeting was held with director Snježana Ljubunčić of the agricultural estate, which is one of the largest milk producers in BiH.

The topic of the conversation was the problems faced by agricultural production and their new projects, and they also discussed the parliamentary question and initiatives he sent to the FBiH Government regarding support for agricultural production in 2022.

"Today, I sent a parliamentary question asking the minister to provide me with detailed information as to why 15 million KM, which were secured for aid to agricultural production, were not realized at the 280th session of the FBiH Government held on September 9, 2021. In these difficult times for agriculture, taking away the planned 15 million from farmers is unacceptable. This directly threatens the existence of thousands of people connected to agricultural production," Čengić stated during the visit.

He emphasizes that there is currently no agricultural strategy, about which he previously sought official answers together with his colleague Sanela Klarić, and considers it wrong that hundreds of millions of KM were distributed without a legally valid strategy.

Namely, the strategy, in accordance with Article 5 of the Law on Agriculture, is adopted by the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina for a period of no more than five years. The strategy expired in 2019. Parliament has not adopted a new one, and the Government, through illegal conclusions, extends the expired strategy, even though it does not have the authority to do so, not even Parliament. He points out the absurdity that in 2022, only a draft Strategy for Agriculture and Rural Development for the period 2021-2027 is being prepared, and for 3 years we have had no strategy, operating outside the legal framework.

"I absolutely support the amendment to the FBiH budget for 2022 to increase the funds for subsidies to 150,000,000 KM from the currently planned 101,000,000 KM, while in 2021 it was 87,000,000 KM. So, the increase in revenue is commendable, but it must be even more significant. Farmer associations and the Committee for Agriculture, Water Management, and Forestry stand behind this amendment. I will request a roll-call vote on this amendment to see how the representatives voted," Čengić adds.

However, he emphasizes that even more important than increasing the budget is its timely implementation before the spring sowing, because if we do not do so, the effect will be a decrease in production or an increase in prices, which further implies even greater inflation.

In addition to the parliamentary question to the FBiH Government, he has submitted initiatives with proposals for urgent measures and measures for the program.

He believes it is important to pay out subsidies for the IV quarter of 2021 and the I quarter of 2022 as soon as possible in March. These funds are necessary to enable the purchase of fertilizers, protective agents, and seeds without farmers incurring debt.

In addition to increasing the budget for agriculture, the very important question arises of how the spring sowing will be carried out. In these circumstances, it is questionable how agricultural producers will finance sowing, which will cost them 2 to 3 times more than the previous year. From conversations with several serious agricultural producers and today's visit to PD Butmir, he received information that sowing will be done on a smaller scale or not at all.

"Therefore, I expect the adoption of urgent intervention measures aimed at securing funds for the procurement and amortization of the price increase of fertilizers, seeds, and chemical agents, through the payment of part of the subsidies for 2022, as well as co-financing per hectare of arable land. All legal possibilities should be considered to implement these measures and disburse funds before the start of sowing, taking into account that the budget, the agricultural program, and the agricultural development strategy have not been adopted," he emphasizes.

He believes that if we do not help and provide funds for spring sowing, the increase in the agricultural budget will not yield the expected results, as there will be a decline in animal and crop production.

He calls on the ministry to adopt its programs and plans earlier so that funds are operational for agricultural producers in a timely manner.

He also reminded that in his work so far, he has proposed amendments and initiatives to the law on contributions, through which he requested that the agricultural sector be granted tax reliefs similar to those enjoyed by low-accumulation sectors of the economy, such as textiles. The ministry supported the idea but never implemented it. Similarly, they responded positively to the initiative to amend the Law on Agricultural Land of the FBiH and remove the possibility of selling state land, but they never submitted the law to parliamentary procedure.

It is clear that due to the accumulated problems, we urgently need a strategy, a new law on agriculture, as well as a new law on monetary support in agriculture.

He also presented figures and indicators that he considers not optimistic for 2022:

Fertilizer prices have increased by 130 to 150%, and even public companies will reduce fertilizer quantities if they do not receive government support, so what can private agricultural producers do?

Precisely those 15 million that have "disappeared" would be very useful for agriculture and for implementing an intervention measure now for the procurement of raw materials for sowing and other needs.

Due to the Ukrainian crisis, he expects grain prices to increase by up to 200%.

According to data from the Federal Bureau of Statistics:

Last year, the production of grain corn in the Federation of BiH in 2021 amounted to 211,902 tons, which is 30.4 percent less than in 2020.

In the production of industrial crops, a decrease in soybean production of 40.9 percent was recorded, and in tobacco production, a decrease of 22.8 percent compared to 2020.

Potato production was 22.1 percent lower compared to the production in the previous year.

In the production of fodder crops, a decrease was recorded in clover production by 21.7 percent, alfalfa by 21.6 percent, corn for fodder by 15.2 percent, and grass-clover mixtures by 17.2 percent compared to 2020.

For fruits, the production of apples was 10.5 percent lower and plums by 27.6 percent compared to 2020.

Total grape production was 4.1 percent lower compared to 2020.

In the end, Čengić emphasizes that with this question and initiatives, he does not want to diminish the progress made in this area, but simply, it is not enough, and many mistakes have been made.