Organic Reconstruction in Bosnia

These may not be easy times for farmers and growers anywhere, but in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) the challenges are immense. During the war that followed the break-up of Yugoslavia, thousands of homes and entire towns and villages were destroyed or abandoned as their inhabitants fled or were forcibly displaced to other areas of the country. Communities which had previously lived together in harmony disintegrated and turned on each other in a series of atrocities that hit the world’s headlines - the siege of Sarajevo, the destruction of Mostar, the massacre of Srebrenica - leaving at war’s end a society reordered and resettled according to ethnic origin. In the countryside the result is a rural population which largely has no connection to the area where they find themselves and in many cases, no money to buy the seeds, livestock and tools with which to make a living. Agriculture and horticulture, like much of the rest of the BiH economy, is dependent on international development funding.

I visited a certified organic horticultural project located in the Neretva River valley south of Mostar supported by a foreign NGO. 20 farmers are supplied with seeds and transplants and grow organic vegetables on holdings, which are generally less than an acre in size. Agronomists attached to the project give advice and oversee that organic standards are both understood and adhered to.

The motivation to abide by the rules is high - these farmers cannot afford to buy seeds, let alone fertilisers and pesticides, so organic production gives them a chance to feed themselves and sell the surplus. Most of the produce is sold as conventional in the local vegetable market but the project is actively seeking to develop organic outlets. The main crops sold are potatoes, onions and carrots although other minor crops are also produced, largely for reasons of rotation.

Another certified project nearby, similarly funded, is managing 15 hectares of a former vineyard abandoned at the beginning of the war with an 800 m2 glasshouse and several tunnels. Approximately 200 seasonal workers are employed growing strawberries for export as well as various vegetable crops for local consumption - some veg even makes it as far as Sarajevo, seventy miles away, where there is a small but growing demand for organically produced food. The farmers group of 40 or so attached to the project work their own land and each receive a small polytunnel - their “carrot” for agreeing to produce crops organically. As many of these farmers have no agricultural background, the project agronomists run a series of educational seminars on the basic and finer points of organic horticultural production. A bonus of this enterprise is the possibility for the farmers to borrow small sums of money for seeds and tools which is then repaid through seasonal labour on the main holding.

We travelled a few miles to inspect one of the small farms - I felt a bit of an idiot as the “foreign expert” turning up in unsuitable clothes (no wellies), unable to communicate other than with smiles or through my interpreter. I’m sure my purpose for being there (conformity assessment of an organic certification body) was probably unclear to the farming couple, but I was welcomed to their small, allotment-sized vegetable patch and single polytunnel - so little really - but representing their best hope to avoid joining the 60% of the population who are unemployed. The polytunnel is a real boon, giving protection from the fierce winds that sweep across the broad valley in winter so that they can grow crops all year round. Their initial motivation in growing organically was that their daughter is diabetic and they felt that this “healthy food” would be better for her, but now they find that their neighbours prefer it too. They sell their surplus onions, spinach, brassicas and strawberries locally which brings in a little hard cash and were hoping to expand their cropping area in 2007.

There is a great deal of abandoned land in BiH, much of it former farmland, but it is difficult to trace the owners - they may have been killed in the war, resettled somewhere else or may even have left the country. Although there are growers like these who would like to expand, they are understandably reticent about working deserted land because the rightful owners could turn up at any time and claim it back.

As we drove back alongside the Neretva to Sarajevo through bomb-scarred villages where every building is pockmarked with sniper bullets and with the ever beautiful mountains towering on each side, I could only reflect that being a small scale grower in the UK is a whole different ballgame.

Jan Deane