Farmers Uninteresting to Ministers

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - Agricultural producers in the Federation of BiH are facing numerous problems and government support is lacking. For this reason, they organized a meeting in Bihać to which they invited representatives of all relevant institutions, however, no one from the line ministries attended.

A large number of agricultural producers in the Federation of BiH are engaged in the production of healthy food, but support from all levels of government is lacking. Payments of incentives and other compensations are delayed with each new failure to adopt financial plans, and essential supplies are becoming increasingly expensive.

"Budgets are late, which are extremely useful to us when they are on time. And when they are not on time, they cut off our heads. We have to go out to the fields in January and plow them, sow in March, feed in April, and that requires large investments. If we don't get the budgets on time, then all of that falls apart," emphasizes Zijad Tahrić, president of the Association of Fish Producers of FBiH.

"If our people don't have anything to eat, then we are all in trouble. Studies by world food organizations predict that hunger will begin this year. The latest study, issued by FAO, predicts that by 2030, due to various influences such as climate and migration, one billion people will die of hunger. I would not like to see my country where people stand in lines," states agricultural producer Muris Mujhanović.

There are 250,000 agricultural producers in the Federation of BiH, and according to Professor Vildana Alibabić, only they can force politicians to make different decisions.

"Politics defines all these developments. Politicians are the ones who must change their way of relating and thinking about the development of agriculture and the survival of this country in general. This current way must stop," Alibabić points out.

For years, this sector has been destroyed and turned into a social one, said Member of the Parliament of the Federation Sanela Klarić, who has been involved in rural development for many years and advocates for increased incentives.

"However, my condition is that we work with these people and citizens in the Federation on the incentive program and the rulebook, and that we try to create a rulebook and program there so that we have very well-developed control mechanisms. All these people who are here today know very well how that money is managed non-transparently and in a very bad way. And they can help if they want us to finally try to properly organize this sector," said Klarić.

Despite the invitation, representatives from the Cantonal and Federal Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management did not respond to the meeting called by agricultural producers.