Despite production costs that are increasing every year, farmers in Semberija have already started sowing vegetables in greenhouses. The weather has been in their favor since the beginning of this year, which is why sowing began a month earlier. Will we have enough local vegetables and how much will we pay for them?
In the greenhouses of the Lazić family from Golo Brdo, the planting of seedlings and the sowing of early cucumber have already begun. The weather is on the farmer’s side, so sowing started earlier than in previous years.
“Approximately a month before, we bring the seedlings to the greenhouses. After that, the preparation of the pepper seedlings in the open air, then the horn pepper seedlings for the greenhouse. The jobs overlap from one to the other, the season has started,” says Miodrag Lazić, a vegetable producer.
The weather also served the potato producers in Janja, where the potatoes have already been sown.
“The conditions are, if I may say so, ideal for sowing, with the fact that calendar-wise it may be early because this year started with this beautiful weather earlier, we are already using these beautiful days to sow potatoes. Otherwise, we start planting potatoes in this area from mid-March with sowing. Ideal weather, ideal conditions,” states potato producer Mustafa Gradaščević.
“Last year was ideal in terms of production. We had an excellent yield. This variety that I am sowing now, last year I had a yield of 19 tons. If this one is half of that, it will be good,” says potato producer Sead Gradaščević.
Strawberries are also early.
“Here you see, you have witnessed that the strawberry blossomed, that’s early. The fruit came out earlier. Frosts are expected, it’s such a period, it’s still winter, we get a little nice days, but date-wise it’s not that, it’s March, half March,” says strawberry producer Đorđe Vakčić.
However, regardless of the farmers’ efforts, estimates are that there will not be enough domestic vegetables, and it is already certain that we will pay more for what is produced this year.
“The circle is such that in this circle we all owe each other. Some owe the suppliers, pharmacists, others owe the people who delivered the machinery, others owe the banks, so it means that if these money and funds are not paid soon, it is realistic that the spring sowing must be or scarce or no spring sowing,” points out Boško Radić from the Farmers’ Association of the village of Semberija.
In addition, production costs in open-air factories are increasing year by year. With the awakening of the vegetation, the old concerns of farmers are once again relevant.
“The price of seed commodities is on the rise slightly, but not too much. Chemicals have become a little more expensive, fuel is scarce, there is a buzz somewhere that maybe the price is stronger, but slightly, but if we know that the price of land lease of those who buy it has gone down” , says strawberry producer Đorđe Vakčić.
Bosnia and Herzegovina mostly imports from the countries of the European Union, but also from Turkey and Serbia. Most vegetables arrive in our country from Serbia. The Netherlands, Turkey, neighboring Croatia and Italy follow on the list, BHRT writes.
