Several weeks of rainfall in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), which resulted in floods in some parts of the country, caused huge losses to farmers. President of the Association of Farmers of the Federation of BiH (FBiH), Nedzad Bico, says that the situation on the ground is catastrophic. Although these are not official figures, current damage estimates are approximately 50-60 percent across all crops.
A meeting of representatives of the FBiH Farmers’ Association, the FBiH Agricultural Producers’ Association, and the FBiH Farmers’ Association with representatives of all cantonal associations was held in Odzak yesterday. Bico, who attended the meeting, stated that certain conclusions were reached, and he will request an urgent meeting with the federal prime minister and the relevant minister in order to help people in some way.
“We just had a meeting here in Odzak, a granary of BiH. What is seen on the ground is a disaster. At the end of the season, we will know exactly, but what we can see right now is that the damage is approximately 50-60 percent across all crops,” Bico said, pointing out that machines cannot go into the field:
“The harvest needs to start, and the machines cannot go into the parcels, diseases have attacked fruit, vegetables, grain, and everything else. To make matters worse, the sowing is not even finished. About 60-70 percent of the sowing has been done, the rest will remain uncultivated.”
He added that there is no area in the FBiH that has not been damaged by rainfall.
Disaster, Bico adds, is a mild word for what farmers are facing. At yesterday’s meeting, they concluded that people should be helped to preserve at least the livestock fund and what was invested in sowing.
E.Dz.
