EU Farmers as a Model of Successful Advocacy: Who Represents the Interests of BiH Farmers?

“No country has become rich from agriculture, but there is no rich country that does not have strong agriculture.”

Standing between:

- constant talk about agriculture as a development opportunity for the BiH economy and the concern of authorities on the path to achieving this economic vision,
- daily promises to increase investment in agriculture and the potential opportunities for the valuable people of our regions,
- the level of development and competition,
- the state of agricultural infrastructure and the demands of producers,
- strategic commitments of the state, regional and global acts governing the field of agriculture,
- EU regulations and laws and decisions of all levels of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
- unclear responsibilities of authorities and institutions and the non-fulfillment of farmers' rights whose production and activities are not adequately supported and protected ... we have the right to ask ourselves how and who will represent and protect the interests of our farmers, whom we so faithfully swear by?

Is agriculture really a development opportunity for our country? The same country whose population has been returning to active agriculture as an economic branch only in the last 20 years.

Unfortunately, we must state that this "return" is almost concentrated on the individual efforts of people who have seen their opportunity in agriculture. Is agriculture in the post-war period in BiH understood as a social branch/area for the care of the socially vulnerable, or does agriculture in BiH truly have a chance for progress in line with its potential?

Is there a willingness of farmers and authorities in BiH to clearly define the path they want to take and to clearly determine the forms of agricultural activities that can be organized in BiH?

In agriculture, as in other economic sectors, things are going very badly. The system is very fragmented, disconnected, and very inefficient. In addition to the existing entity, cantonal, and District responsibilities, municipalities are also involved in agriculture.

Where agricultural policy should realistically be established and developed, which is the BiH level, there is no separate ministry or similar body whose exclusive task would be agriculture. In such a constellation of relations, these "formal" political institutions of the system, i.e., competent ministries and services, each in their own area, adopt strategies, measures, and policies that are very often uncoordinated and contradictory.

On the other hand, civil society has not managed to create a roof organization that would defend the interests and promote the goals of agriculture. Groups emerge from time to time that put pressure on decision-makers, but these are short-term actions with short-term results. Due to this kind of "organization" of farmers, there is a deepening of strong "legal illiteracy of agricultural producers" who do not know the regulations, are unable to recognize available sources of financing or co-financing of their projects, both local and (especially) international.

We also come to the general conclusion that representing the interests of agriculture or farmers in BiH today is very difficult. However, it is not impossible. But all those who want to work qualitatively and improve the status of farmers in BiH take on great responsibility and obligation with an uncertain outcome, conditioned, above all, by the complex system of competencies and decision-making.

From personal experiences and relations with farmers, as well as recent developments related to BiH's European path, I feel responsible for sharing such observations with the general public. Also, as part of the postgraduate studies in European Business Studies conducted by Alma Mater Europae – European Centre from Maribor (Slovenia), with a group of students, I had the opportunity to visit some European institutions in Brussels where we also discussed interesting facts about the trend of agriculture in the EU and, among other things, became acquainted with all the important facts related to the Common Agricultural Policy of the EU. I am also considering the question from the title as a need caused by research in the field of representing the interests of European farmers, which I have been analyzing for the past few months.

European agriculture is a clear example of how focused actions synchronized with quality political leadership produce results and how European farmers have succeeded in their fight to achieve the rights they enjoy today. Of course, I am talking about success and development that did not happen by chance.

Professor Hadžiahmetović wrote that European agriculture has developed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 2000 years. Although the Common Agricultural Policy has very often faced significant criticism, attempts at various reforms and improvements, it is still perceived today as a real success of the Union. Besides the desire to improve the situation in agriculture and the will of political leaders to take a decisive step towards the basic goals in the agricultural sector, this qualitative leap would not have happened without serious interventions in the sphere of lobbying for agriculture and the interests of farmers.

The foundations defined by the Community's agricultural policy were formulated in 1958 and began to be applied in 1962, relating, among other things, to: the formation of a common market for agricultural products; protection of domestic production (protectionism) – preference for products produced by the Community and a unified method of financing agricultural policy and centralized management of funds.

And the aforementioned quality of approach is evidenced by the numbers, i.e., EU budgets, where these amounts have varied proportionally as reform interventions occurred, but remained quite high. For the implementation of this policy, in certain budget years, up to 85% of the Union's budget funds were spent (in 1972). Over time, the proportional amounts spent on the CAP decreased, but in absolute terms, due to the increase in funds flowing into the EU Budget, these amounts increased. So today, we have more funds allocated to financing this policy and its accompanying projects than before.

In this way, by following the development of European agriculture for the last half-century and the struggle of farmers for their better status in modern European society, we arrive at the Bosnian reality. And it is such today that the loudest and most intense talk about agriculture and farmers regularly and always occurs in the period before elections held every two years. The well-known "sensitivity" and the fulfillment of promises by BiH political actors show the true picture of the sector. If we add to that the lack of organized actions aimed at the goals and interests of farmers, we get a big nothing.

The process in the EU was completely reversed. European farmers owe their success to the "social sensitivity" that European politicians also feel towards them. This population segment is very useful and helps them in their successes through electoral cycles and the distribution of positions both in the member states and in the Union.

Finally, from all of the above, we can draw conclusions that could be useful and of interest to farmers, and could also be guidelines for the general progress of agriculture in BiH.

Agriculture in BiH must be systematically organized with clear responsibilities of all levels of government, incentive systems, and accountability; agriculture in BiH must be urgently strengthened in all segments, the market must be organized and protected for domestic agricultural producers, both domestic and international – strictly observing the obligations undertaken by signed international agreements; all available resources for the development of agriculture in BiH must be used and protected in accordance with EU standards and on the basis of the real needs of farmers; an official structure must be established that can accept and manage various projects, especially those that will be able to use EU funds for agriculture; strong and urgent harmonization of all regulations at all levels of government under a common state agricultural "roof" is necessary.

Author: Bojan Bošnjak, participant in the master's program European Business Studies - European Project Management at ALMA MATER EUROPAEA – European Centre Maribor