Three generations of the Omićević family – father, son and grandchildren – are out in the fields of Posavina since the wake of dawn. While the warm days do make their job easier, the new machines help in doing everything much faster and with better quality.
“I do this job from the heart and I couldn’t live without it. I wish it never got dark so I could work longer. I look forward to every day and the work,” says 65-year-old Mehmedalija Omićević, the oldest member of the family, while taking a short break in the corn field.
The Omićević family from Odžak planted the first seeds in the fertile fields of Posavina 24 years ago, when they started also breeding animals. The whole family shares the love for agriculture, especially Mehmedalija’s son Sanel and his two sons. Sanel is the owner of the agricultural business Sanel, dealing primarily in milk production, breeding cows and bulls, but also in the production of food for about 200 animals on the farm.
“We have been investing gradually in our business, introduced innovations and adjusted to the standards of the European Union. The new machines we bought through EU4Business project will help us further improve our work on the farm. I thought about the machines for a long time, but these were out of our reach as a sizable investment for our farm; the support of the European Union, however, changed our minds,” explains Sanel.
His family business applied for a public call for grants to support farms, published by EU4Business project, and, after fulfilling all the conditions, the business received funding for the purchase of new machines for farm work.
A straw pressing machine, a loader and a multi-purpose trailer were procured, all used in the process of feeding animals, transporting hay, cereals and fertilizers. Their procurement has improved the current work process, increased productivity and reduced production costs.
According to Sanel, without assistance, this family business could not secure the purchase of these machines since the investment value exceeds BAM 280,000, of which EU4Business project has provided around BAM 170,000 in grants.
“The work we do is now done faster and with better quality, and new machines require less physical effort. Earlier, I needed three days for some works in the field, and today I do it with the new machines in just one,” explains Sanel.
Although the contributions of the new machines in working on the farm and in the field are already evident, Sanel believes that they will be in a position to measure their more concrete results and efficiency in the coming period.
“This is not a kind of job you do in one day. This is a job where a man builds lasting visions. We hope to increase the volume of production with the new machines, because the results so far tell us that their contribution to the overall work is of great importance,” says Sanel.
EU4Business is European Union’s project that aims to strengthen Bosnia and Herzegovina’s capacity for economic growth and employment by fostering competitiveness and innovation in selected sectors. It is worth EUR 16.1 million; EUR 15 million is funded by the European Union and EUR 1.1 million by the Federal Republic of Germany.
The project is jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Labour Organization (ILO), from April 2018 to March 2022. EU4Business is part of the Local Development Strategies – Local Self-Government and Economic Development Programme in Bosnia and Herzegovina, implemented by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
