Minister Košarac Introduces National Divisions Among Farmers

(Patria) - The Association of Farmers of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina condemns the working methods of the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, Staša Košarac, who excludes farmers from the FBiH from making important decisions. Yesterday, Minister Košarac held a meeting on, as he stated, protecting domestic production with a focus on the issue of market surpluses. Only representatives of farmers from Republika Srpska and majority Croatian associations were invited to the meeting.

"We believe this is an attempt to introduce national divisions among farmers, and to pit producers, processors, and buyers against each other. On this occasion, we remind Minister Košarac that agriculture has no national affiliation, which we have proven by establishing a state-level Association of Farmers.

This is not the first time that the minister responsible for the entire BiH has ignored representatives from the Federation and advocated for the benefit of only one entity. Furthermore, we consider it unacceptable that yesterday's meeting was entirely dedicated to the issue of meat surpluses, which is primarily a problem for farmers from Republika Srpska. Agriculture is not just meat production, but also milk, fruit, and vegetable production, and surpluses of these products are currently a serious burden for farmers from the Federation of BiH. Protecting domestic production should mean protecting all BiH agricultural products, regardless of which entity they come from.

As Minister Košarac announced the continuation of talks with farmers, we expect that next time he will not ignore the needs of federal producers from cantons with a Bosniak majority," the Association of Farmers of FBiH announced.