Ivanković Lijanović: I call on the FBiH Government to urgently stop the robbery of agricultural producers

As part of his visit to the Una-Sana Canton, a candidate for the BiH Presidency in the 2018 General Elections and Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of FBiH in the 2011-2015 term, Jerko Ivanković Lijanović, visited producers of milk, meat, and other plant and animal products, the Public Relations Office announced, writes Patria.

'For the umpteenth time, I had the opportunity to see the natural wealth of our homeland, especially the Una-Sana Canton area and the hardworking farmers who do not want to leave their native soil, even though the number of those leaving this region for a better life in Western European countries is increasing every day,' stated Jerko Ivanković Lijanović, who also saw the very difficult position of farmers, which is further exacerbated by the reduction in subsidies and purchase prices, which he significantly increased during his previous ministerial term.

'The position of agricultural producers is further aggravated by the reduction of subsidies and purchase prices by approximately 20%. When you are in the field with these people, you see their sincere desire and love for producing domestic food, which is also a guarantee for the survival of the population,' said Lijanović, adding that given such naturally rich land and hardworking inhabitants, such robbery by the authorities, who continue the trend of importing 80% of our food and producing only 20% for our own needs, is unacceptable.

'If the authorities continue with such irresponsible behavior towards agriculture, a huge percentage of displaced farmers will emerge very soon, and we will have our own rich land without our producers, who will go to other countries to produce milk and other products that are then imported for our children in BiH.

I take this opportunity to call on those responsible in the FBiH Government to urgently return subsidies and purchase prices to the level from my term, because further robbery by traders, processors, and buyers is simply unbearable and unacceptable for agricultural producers, as well as for the FBiH Government itself,' concluded Jerko Ivanković Lijanović.