Agriculture and food industry are key poles of the economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In order for this sector to be competitive, sustainable and harmonized with the standards of the European Union, the EU provides support through modernization, digitization and legislative reform.
During five years of implementation, from 2020. by 2025. year, through the EU-funded EU4AGRI project, 20 million euros have been invested. The project provided support for 2,040 actors in the agro-food sector, including more than 1,600 small agricultural farms, and enabled the opening of 307 jobs, of which more than half are intended for women and young people. The project was implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in BiH, in partnership with the Czech Development Agency (cznda).
The key results of the project are presented today at the panel discussion held in Europe House Sarajevo, who attended representatives of relevant institutions, academic communities and commercial chambers.
Stefano Ellero, the head of the EU collaboration in BiH, emphasized that strategic investments can significantly contribute to the actual needs of local communities – these are families with more stable revenues, young people who have received their first opportunity to work in The sector, and companies that do more competitive and with greater environmental responsibility today. The European Union remains supported by EU, through strategic investment and digital innovation and the fundamental development and EU standards. “
The project has improved advisory services, digitized public administration and supported the development of key strategic documents, such as the BiH Rural Development Strategic Plan for the period 2023-2027. and the Law on Organization of the BiH Wine Market. Grant management software are already used by ministries at the entity level, while online advisory platforms for farmers are a model for digital transformation of public services.
Renaud Meyer, the UNDP Resident Representative in BiH, said the foundations for a more resistant, inclusive and technologically advanced agri-food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in climate measures and the digital transformation, but only created a long-term influence. As UNDP, we make strength Global expertise and local partnerships to encourage sustainable development, and we remain fully committed to Bosnia and Herzegovina on its path to its path to the European Union, and we have shown the strength of local partnerships in initiating systemic changes and accelerating progress towards sustainable development. “
Slobodan Cvijanović, Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, are confronted in the process of harmonizing the European Union. Fragmented administrative capacities slow down the reforms. However, solutions are achievable: with political will, Coordination, strategic planning and EU-fund access, BiH can take a determined step towards an efficient, functional and EU-compatible rural development system. “
The project also enabled the introduction of climate smart technologies, such as meteorological stations and intelligent software tools, which significantly increased the resistance of the climate change sector.
Priorities in the coming period include the continuation of the implementation of the adopted strategies, strengthening the advisory services, the spread of digitization and improvement of the European market, especially in the areas of wine, organic production and food processing.
