SARAJEVO, September 8 (FENA) – President of the Association of Agricultural Producers of Bosnia and Herzegovina Vladimir Usorac warned today that the extreme drought, which affected most of Bosnia and Herzegovina this year, caused huge damages to agricultural crops.
“The most severely affected agricultural crops are corn, soybeans and sown grasses, including potatoes and other types of vegetables that are not irrigated, and the estimated damage in Bosnia and Herzegovina is in the range of 50 to 70 percent, or more than a billion KM,” said Usorac.
Somewhat less damage was registered in the areas of Modriča, Bosanska Dubica and Prijedor.
“Apart from the damage caused by the drought, there are also obvious consequences of the tornado that ‘started’ from Livno and ended in the Slovak Tatras, and which caused almost total damage in the affected area,” said Usorac, expressing indignation over the attitude of the authorities towards agricultural producers.
He illustrates the difficulties in this regard with the purchase price of one liter of milk, which is 0,55 KM, which, as he states, is less than the price of one liter of water in a shop.
“Farms are being closed, villages are deserted. Across from our farm there are 12 houses and six inhabitants and they are all over 80 years old,” stressed Usorac, expressing fear that it is too late to do something more serious in terms of revitalizing the villages and improving the status of farmers.
At the same time, he warns that a significantly reduced yield and product quality will lead to an increase in the prices of agricultural products, and thus food products.
“The prices of these products on the domestic market are determined by wholesale buyers, import lobbies and corrupt politicians,” says Usorac, noting that the proposals of farmers in the line of protection of domestic production, by burdening imports with customs duties, were not met with approval by the authorities.
