Minister Hrnjic on the first year in office – new measures have already proved effective
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry held today the annual press conference where Minister Kemal Hrnjić highlighted the key activities carried out in the last year.
“It was the year for taking stock of the capacities and making efforts to improve the sectors of agriculture, rural development, water, veterinary, food industry, forestry and hunting,” said Minister Hrnjić.
He pointed out the successful implementation of the Agriculture and Rural Development Subsidy Program, and this year’s historic budget for agriculture in the amount of 175 million KM. Some new measures have been introduced, including the birth rate policy to support families with three or more children with an additional amount of support. The program is also aimed at providing additional support to young people and women.
Important strategic documents in agriculture and water management were prepared. As minister pointed out, the Strategy of Agriculture and Rural Development 2021-2027 was adopted by the House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament last week, and its adoption by the House of Peoples of the FBiH Parliament is pending.
The Ministry in particular worked on improving the communication with agricultural producers in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We visited all 10 cantons in the Federation, spoke with agricultural producers, representatives of farmers’ associations and the government to make sure we are preparing a strategy that is in line with the needs of our farmers. Visits to the cantons were sometimes prompted by disasters that required emergency response. In some cantons we had to deal with floods, in others with droughts, some cantons were affected by African swine fever, and some by insufficient investment in the development of agriculture,” added Minister Hrnjić.
FBiH Water Management Strategy 2022-2032 was adopted in both houses of the FBiH parliament and the main strategic goal is protecting water quality and ensuring the availability of water resources and their sustainability. Flood risk management plans for both basin districts in the FBiH were also adopted, and the development of the Draft Law on Water Services in the Federation of BiH was initiated.
The House of Representatives of the FBiH Parliament also adopted the Draft Law on strong alcoholic beverages.
Minister also pointed out fruitful cooperation with international partners in these sectors.
“The Water Services Modernization Project in FBiH, worth 50 million KM and funded by the World Bank was also launched last year. The goal of this project is to improve the performance and efficiency of public utility companies in the municipalities of the Federation in order to support them in improving their economic sustainability,” said Minister Hrnjić.
“The membership in the SWG – Standing Working Group for Rural Regional Development in the Western Balkans has been reactivated, and the preparations are ongoing for the project ‘Women driving development in agriculture and rural areas’ implemented by UN Women and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The implementation of the Fire Management Program in the Western Balkans (LFMWB) is also underway,” said Minister Hrnjić.
Moreover, the project implementation units in the Ministry implement projects aimed at increasing resilience and competitiveness in agriculture and integrated development of the Sava and Drina river corridors as well as reducing poverty in rural areas.
Minimal damage from African swine fever in FBiH
Minister Hrnjić said that prompt and timely response prevented the spread of the African swine fever in the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
“We ensured timely communication with other competent institutions and prevented further spread and ensured the containment of African swine fever, and we can proudly say that we saved this type of production from devastation. Damages in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina are minimal, as opposed to the neighbouring countries where the damages are in the tens of millions of KM”, said Minister Hrnjić.
The forestry sector lacks the Law on Forests in FBiH
As was pointed out, Minister Hrnjić brought the issues of forestry at the forefront of public attention, emphasizing the importance of adopting the Forest Law in the Federation of BiH. The government also adopted the Decision on forest land repurposing and temporary repurposing of forest land. As minister pointed out, the aforementioned decision saved forest lands from their complete devastation. Also, public consultation was also initiated for the Draft of the law on planting material of forest and ornamental trees and shrubs in the FBiH. Contracts with the users of special hunting grounds in the territory of the FBiH were signed for a period of ten years in line with the requirements of modern hunting management, while respecting international conventions and the individual specificities of each hunting ground in terms of its terrain, natural traits and game species. We also issued recommendations to the cantonal ministries responsible for agriculture on the need to take measures to limit the damages caused by wild animals.
Continue the digitization process
Minister Hrnjić also pointed out that the Ministry makes efforts to digitalize processes, in order to streamline processing subsidy applications.
“When I took this office, I said that we would try to digitize certain processes. In order to achieve the above, we held several meetings with representatives of renowned companies from Serbia and Croatia and discussed the possibilities of implementing similar systems for the territory of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Through one of the project units, we ensured funds for the development of a software solution for monitoring land parcels. The Veterinary Information System that will significantly improve the veterinary operations was also developed in order to record the number of animals in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and their health status,” said Minister Hrnjić.
Ministry will also implement a software for improving office operations.
What was also pointed out was the need for IPARD structure at country-level that Minister Hrnjić discussed with his counterparts in other entity and at state level in order to review the activities and establish a single body in order to be eligible for EU funds intended for our farmers.
Minister Hrnjić ended the conference on a positive note, expressing his hope that the measures developed for 2024 would yield positive results, taking dairy sector as an example of a well-developed sector in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina with a positive growth trend. He also expressed his hope that measures for supporting young farmers will encourage young people to start their business in agriculture.
