BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - BOSNIE-HERZEGOVINE - BOSNIA Y HERZEGOVINA

Mr. Refik NumiF, Counsellor in the Ministry of Agriculture, Water, Economy and Forestry of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

It is a great pleasure and a privilege to participate in this extremely important Summit, and I would like to thank you very much for your kind invitation.

I come from the country which, I am sure, has occupied your attention for the last five years due to the aggression, destruction, loss of lives of our people as well as food shortages. The generous assistance of the world community in supplying food to our people has helped us to survive and overcome the horrors of aggression. I take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of my country, all the United Nations organizations for the food aid and help in survival which has been provided to us.

As peace has come, my country is still in the position of trying to prevent hunger as we have a major problem in ensuring our own food production. Before the aggression, within the former Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina had not been able to produce enough food to feed our 4 365 000 inhabitants. Insufficient food production was, and still is, the consequence of many factors, among which I would like to emphasize the following: insufficient land capacity; suitability of land for normal production is limited since only 55 percent of the land is arable and because of the small size of farms - 3.1 ha of farmland per household is the average which, in most cases, is divided into 7-9 lots.

In addition to the ecological conditions, the low yields of agricultural crops are the consequence of insufficient technology. The small quantity of fertilizers and chemicals applied as plant protection and the lack of irrigation result in even smaller yields. Production of food in Bosnia and Herzegovina has been decreased by aggression, causing devastation and destruction. The overall damage suffered by the agriculture sector is over US$ 4.5 billion. Livestock has been the most affected, followed by farm machinery, buildings, equipment, orchards and vineyards, plantations, etc. Obviously soil, forests and water supplies have suffered the most severe damage.

Reconstruction, rehabilitation and elaboration of strategies for the development of sustainable food production; and rural development and conservation of the natural resources will require the assistance and cooperation of international institutions. Development of education for scientific research with an emphasis on food production from university level up to advisory level, as well as provision of the equipment needed by the educational and scientific institutions represent the initial basis for building up the necessary scientific and professional staff.

The improvement of our food production situation requires solving certain problems, especially the following:

· First, development of local production of plant reproductive materials and ensuring the proper use of fertilizers and pesticides, and good quality seeds from the best cultivars;

· Second, improvement of food production and processing techniques, especially farm equipment and machinery through encouraging local machinery industries;

· Third, as a mountainous country, Bosnia and Herzegovina is well suited to animal production for meat and dairy consumption. Thus it is necessary to make adaptations in animal breeds by importing from abroad, to improve our own animal breeding stock and, through the establishment of reproductive centres and by enhancing our expertise and veterinary services to allow us to maintain this diversity;

· Fourth, with regard to the water sector, there are expensive investments being made for the installation of potable water supplying plants, to ensure protection of the soil against floods, and for drainage and irrigation of the soil.

The Plan of Action of the World Food Summit contains good guidelines for the development of agriculture and rural areas and, in many respects, will provide opportunities for the employment of refugees and displaced persons.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask the international community again to take an active part in the reconstruction, rehabilitation and development of agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would also like to add that the international organizations, the World Bank, FAO, IFAD, the EC and some others have already committed themselves, and I would like again to take this opportunity to thank, on behalf of my country, the whole international community for the help they have already provided us with.