Yesteday, Sweden and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) marked the closure of a successful $18 million joint agricultural project that helped domestic organizations and producers increase sales, create new jobs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and boost regional exports.
US Ambassador Eric Nelson, Swedish Ambassador Johanna Strömquist and European Union Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Johann Sattler joined the celebration at the Alpino goat farm near Sarajevo. USAID Mission Director Nancy Eslick chaired the event, which also marked the end of 20 years of direct US support for agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Over the last four years, the Sweden/USAID FARMA II project has focused on the development of five agricultural sectors – dairy, poultry, fruits and vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants, and the honey sector. The primary goal of FARMA II was to improve agricultural and economic opportunities by helping local authorities and agricultural producer organizations to adopt EU and other international agricultural and food standards and modernize production.
“The success of the decade-long partnership between the US and Swedish governments is reflected in the achievements of the joint USAID/Sweden FARMA I and FARMA II projects,” Nelson said. “It is obvious how much agriculture has progressed in BiH in those years. Therefore, USAID, developing its new five-year strategy, has decided to abandon direct agricultural aid and focus its investments on tourism, especially agro-tourism, where we see great opportunities for growth.“
“Today we celebrate the achievements of the FARMA II project funded by Sweden and USAID,” said Swedish Ambassador Strömquist. “Over the last 10 years, we have supported Bosnia and Herzegovina’s policy efforts and improved the legislative and regulatory framework needed to meet EU requirements in the agricultural sector, and facilitated accreditation and certification, thus allowing poultry and eggs to be exported to the EU market for the first time. In short, FARMA II has helped its users to double their net sales over the past five years, triple their exports, and most importantly, create over 1,000 new jobs,” said Ambassador Strömquist.
EU Ambassador Sattler said that the EU remains committed to supporting transformative, green and digital practices in agriculture and other sectors: “Our ongoing €30 million IPA 2018 assistance for agriculture and rural development, as well as food, animal and food safety began last year. Grants will be provided to farmers and businesses to help align with the EU acquis and build capacity by 2024. Moreover, the EU is providing an additional €18 million for pandemic recovery and improving the resilience of SMEs and industries in BiH under the EU4Business and EU4Agri projects.”
By supporting the agricultural sector in BiH for more than two decades, the United States has invested about $60 million in the development of thousands of farmers, brought BiH closer to Euro-Atlantic integration, and set the country on the path to self-sustainability. The US agricultural support to BiH was implemented within three programs, the 2003 LAMP, followed by FARMA I and FARMA II in partnership with the Swedish government.
Overall, USAID projects have helped introduce new rural strategies and products, provided modern equipment, helped create jobs, and increased exports to EU countries.
The latest joint Sweden/USAID FARMA II project provided more than 9.3 million BAM in grants to 186 producer organizations, resulting in an additional 11 million BAM in co-investment by grant recipients. In the meantime, the value of key sectoral producers increased by almost 49 million BAM.
The event, hosted by the Alpino Goat Farm, a successful goat’s milk, cheese and soap producer, was joined by other FARMA II project beneficiaries, including Eco-Medico, a Sarajevo-based producer of medicinal herbs and honey, and Mega Natura from Breza, which produces fruit juices and jams, and Madi from Tešanj with its poultry products.
