Entity Agriculture Ministers Hrnjić and Minić meet with Minister Košarac

Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of Federation of BiH met today in Sarajevo with Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina Staša Košarac and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republika Srpska Savo Minić to discuss joint issues in agriculture.

As pointed out, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH has an exclusively coordinating role, and the relevant entity ministries are in charge of defining agricultural policies.

Minister Košarac informed them that the BiH Council of Ministers is set to consider the agricultural census on its Thursday session, including the establishment of an interdepartmental working group for the preparation of the agricultural census 2023 – 2026 action plan.

The meeting also focused on the issue of harmonizing legislation with EU regulations and directives, and the ministers exchanged opinions on the possibilities of analyzing the application of the Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU and other agreements in order to protect domestic production.

The ministers also exchanged perspectives on the ways to define the IPARD structure in order to increase access to the EU pre-accession funds.

Minister Hrnjić pointed out the issue of introducing blue diesel for farmers in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the possibilities and procedures for introducing agricultural producers into the system and granting financial support to farmers in the between-entity line zones.

“This meeting was an opportunity to exchange opinions on several important topics in the field of agriculture, considering also that this state-level ministry is in charge of veterinary, including defining policy, basic principles, coordinating activities and harmonizing the plans of entity authorities and acting as liaison with international institutions in the field of agriculture”, said Minister Hrnjić and emphasized the need to ensure additional funds in the field of agriculture.

Minister Hrnjić also stressed that “farmers, regardless of what part of the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina they live and work in, should not be deprived of the funds that government representatives should provide for them through their work, especially those that can be made available to them with a little bit of good will.”