Prime Minister Nikšić and Minister Hrnjić at the opening of the First BiH Poultry Congress: Economic development of BiH is one of our priorities

The Prime Minister of the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nermin Nikšić and the Federal Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry Kemal Hrnjić attended the opening ceremony of the First International Poultry Congress of Bosnia and Herzegovina held in Banja Luka.

Prime Minister Nikšić expressed his satisfaction that the institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina and both entities endorsed this business gathering in their joint resolve to tackle the issues and listen to proposals in order to improve the poultry sector.

– I want to send a message that the progress of our economy is not subject to entity borders and that the poultry problem is the same throughout the territory of BiH. I am glad that right from the beginning we are making it clear that the economic, agricultural and every other development of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a priority for us – said Nikšić.

He pointed out that the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and its line ministry strive to support the agricultural sector through subsidies, but that the efforts will be made to increase budget allocations, especially for poultry farming, which was included in the subsidy program last year.

  – Inter-entity and interdepartmental cooperation is of pivotal importance for improving the situation. We are ready to talk in order to find together the best possible solutions. We will look at the situation in Federation and, if necessary, revise the programs to offer better solutions and higher subsidies. We will not make any promises right away, but we will try to significantly improve the current situation – said Nikšić.

He added that he was familiar with other problems facing the poultry sector in our country, such as product placement, production capacity and labor shortages.

– Poultry should not be a social but a development branch of agriculture. Domestic production is the most important segment of development, and we know that it needs to be improved. We as government bear the responsibility to improve the conditions, and we expect citizens to contribute to the development of our economy and economic environment by buying domestic products – Prime Minister Nikšić concluded in his address.

The Federal Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry Kemal Hrnjić stated that the poultry productivity in the Federation, both in meat and egg production, had a positive trend, and that compared to European standards and the countries of the region, there is a need for its further growth.

– In the last year’s Subsidy Program, 1,465,000 KM was allocated for the poultry production, out of which more than one million was used. Breeding of broilers was also one of the measures last year, and we have increased allocations for all measures in this year’s program, including those in poultry. Sources say that 275,000 tons of feed are needed for poultry farming, while we produce 80,000 tons. We should certainly seize this opportunity and fill this gap with domestic production – pointed out Hrnjić, and added that the rural development measures provide other investment support opportunities in the agricultural and food industry sectors.

The Congress is organized by the Coordinating Committee of Poultry Breeders of BiH, the Association of Poultry Breeders of the Federation of BiH and the Association of Poultry Breeders “Zajednica živinara R-S”.

About 300 participants from the countries of the region, the European Union, USA and other countries attend the Congress.

The goal of the Congress is to expand the list of products from Bosnia and Herzegovina that can be placed on EU markets.