EU4BusinessRecovery

Organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP in BiH) and within the EU4Business project of the European Union, a seminar  "Free cattle breeding - Perspectives and good international practices" took place yesterday in Livno.

The seminar is an integral part of technical assistance aimed not only at grant beneficiaries within the EU4Business project, but also at the wider interested public, primarily growers, representatives of academia and relevant institutions. In addition, as pointed out yesterday in Livno, the seminar presented the possibilities and prospects of raising cattle with a cow-calf system, key challenges as well as international experiences and good practices in this area. At the same time, this was an opportunity for cattle breeders in BiH to identify potential opportunities to gain a competitive advantage through the introduction and promotion of new trends and technologies.

Lecturers from France, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina shared their knowledge and experience in this field during the seminar, while it was emphasized that free cattle breeding in hilly and lowland areas can be extremely useful for employment and rural development in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

"The seminar was primarily intended for agricultural workers and practitioners in the field of cattle breeding, who in addition to exchanging experiences, visited the farm" Podhum ", which is one of the most successful beneficiaries of the EU4Business project, as an example of good practice of free cattle breeding," pointed out Željka Vidović, Coordinator for Policies in Agriculture and Rural Development of the EU4Business project. 

Within the EU4Business project, the farm "Podhum" received funds in the amount of over 130,000 KM, while the total value of the investment was about 218,000 KM. With the help of these funds, the processes of cattle breeding on the farm have been improved, which have enabled more efficient work, better use of natural resources, but also greater competitiveness on the market.

Namely, the investment contributed to the process of digitalization and innovation of the farm "Podhum", which invested in a special system of monitoring cattle through collars with GPS signal, which is extremely important for them because cattle spend winters and summers outdoors. Also, a water supply system with seven thermal drinkers was made, which will enable the supply of clean water to pastures throughout the year, which was not the case before. In addition, electric fences have been installed to serve as fire barriers, modern energy production and storage systems.

It is important to point out that the farm "Podhum" follows the strict rules of organic cattle breeding, as evidenced by the certificate of organic farming according to European Union standards and Halal certificate. Improvements achieved through the EU4Business project will contribute to greater care for cattle, which is their main priority.

EU4Business is a European Union project that seeks to strengthen the capacity for economic growth and employment in BiH by improving competitiveness and innovation in selected sectors. EU4Business is worth 16.1 million euros, of which 15 million euros are financed by the EU, and 1.1 million euros by the Federal Republic of Germany. The project is jointly implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), UNDP in BiH and the International Labor Organization (ILO).