Bosnia and Herzegovina: Problems with purchasing Wheat, questionable further Production

Bad weather conditions and the world economic crisis caused big problems for Bosnia and Herzegovina farmers. The situation is very difficult in the Posavina Canton, which was the reason for the visit of the Minister of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kemal Hrnjić.

Juro Kopačević from Odžak has been engaged in agriculture for more than 50 years. This year, he is facing big problems when it comes to sowing wheat: “People are questioning whether they will drive it, because the cost price is currently so low on a global level that it is simply not possible to pay the labor costs that are required now, let alone anything else , to count on earnings. We had the least influence on that. We have experienced what a peasant fears most. It is an expensive sowing and a cheap harvest”.

He warns that next year’s production is questionable if the authorities do not find a solution. On this occasion, a meeting with farmers was held in Orašje.

“The producers did not ask for anything concrete today, nor did we offer anything concrete. We were not talking about fees and money, we were talking about a way to overcome this situation. So, we presented the calculations on the table, we saw where the problems are,” explains Minister Hrnjić.

Prime Minister Đuro Topić pointed out that the canton promised to find a way to help: “Whether it will be 5 pfennigs or what we can do, I believe that we will find a way to compensate for this loss through our support in cooperation with the Ministry, so that they survive this year. That is the goal”.

The current purchase price of wheat is 30 pfennigs per kilogram, while last year it was twice as much. Farmers hope that their problem will be solved as soon as possible, although they believe that the authorities have again reacted late.

Tags: weather conditions, price, agriculture, Production, wheat, Bosnia and Herzegovina