Emergency Production of High-Quality Seed
for War Affected Areas in Bosnia and Herzegovina
FAO/TCOR - UNDP project financed
by the Government of Japan (BiH/96/028)
Mona S. Chaya
FAO Emergency Coordinator
for Bosnia and Herzegovina

1. Overview of Project Activities

1.1 Background

As a result of the war, the local seed industry in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) was broken down. Seed production systems have undergone serious damages which will take several years to repair and rebuild prior capacities. Seed quality control and phyto-sanitary capacities were completely devastated where equipment were totally destroyed or stolen, and qualified staff had left. During and after the war, seed production was being carried out in a completely chaotic way without following the minimum standards of quality seed production. Seed certification was totally by-passed due to lack of seed quality testing facilities and an absence of official inspection. No control on seed import was made which allowed the entrance into the country of huge amounts of new and unadapted varieties not on the official list and sometimes introducing new diseases due to lack of quarantine measures. Normally, a new variety is tested for two or three years in experimental plots before being accepted or rejected by the country. In many cases, distributed humanitarian seed aid, especially wheat seed, were not quality tested and were of poor quality. All these factors led to extremely low yields and a complex seed production situation that should have been seriously treated on the ministerial level.

1.2 Objectives

The FAO project BiH/96/028 "Emergency production of high quality seed for war affected areas in BiH" was initiated in BiH under very chaotic conditions in the seed industry with the initial objective of assisting its rehabilitation.

The project’s immediate objectives are the re-establishment of an early generation seed production, maintenance and multiplication programme of major agricultural crops in BiH and the establishment of a seed quality and phytosanitary control capacity.

The overall objectives are to: (i) reduce dependence on direct food aid and external sources of agricultural assistance, especially seed; (ii) assist the country to become more self-sufficient in seed production in terms of quality and availability and to produce surplus for sale; (iii) re-establish marketing systems in order to improve the sustainability of local production; and (iv) encourage the emergence of localized seed supply networks.

1.3 Implementation methodologies

The project started in October 1996 for a duration of 18 months (October 1996 - May 1998) which is exactly 1 ½ growing seasons. The crops dealt with were wheat and potato and to a lesser extent bean, onion and alfalfa (Medicago sativa). The operations were carried out on a ratio basis of ¾ in the entity Federation of BiH (FBiH) and ¼ in the entity Republika Srpska (RS) for political reasons. According to the Dayton Agreement peace accord, signed in November 1995, the two entities FBiH and RS constitute BiH.

The official implementing partner is the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Resources and Forestry (MAWRAF). In FBIH, MAWRAF designated the Agricultural Institute for Development, UPI, as implementing partner and in RS, the other MAWRAF designated Banja Luka Agricultural Research Institute as the implementing partner for wheat and Sokolac Potato institute for potato.

All project operations were made after discussions between FAO experts and the implementing partners. Decisions on varieties, quantities of required seed, categories of seed, locations of planting, time of planting and target beneficiaries were jointly made between FAO and the implementing partner.

It is worth mentioning that the project was strictly dealing, in all five crops, with high quality seed or (primary seed) which are the highest categories in the seed multiplication chain and these are Super Elite (SE), Elite (E) and Original (O). When the project started, it was the only one dealing with such kind of seed. All other humanitarian seed distributions were of the commercial category. Due to the delicacy of handling primary seed, and due to their high value, the main target beneficiaries were seed producers capable of handling them. Seed which reached the commercial stage in the seed multiplication cycle, were distributed to around 2000 families of vulnerable farmers.

The project involved 60 producers, and around 1300 ha of planted area in 25 locations, all over BiH in its both entities. It was the first project of its kind which was implemented in an interactive manner between the two entities of BiH where seed was purchased from one side and planted in the other. This way, the peace objective of the Dayton accord was enhanced.

1.4 Expected results

According to the project document the expected results were:

a. Depending on weather conditions, the expected quantity of high quality seed produced at the end of the project should be up to 10 000 mt potato, 1 200 mt cereals, 500 mt onion (set), and 100 mt beans including a proportion used to continue multiplication of super-elite and elite seed for a total estimated value of US$ 11 000 000.

b. Establishment of an operational seed quality control and phytosanitary laboratory.

2. Expected versus Actual Results.

2.1 Were expected results achieved?

The expected results were achieved to a large extent. The second objective which is establishing an operational seed quality control and phytosanitary laboratory was achieved to a higher level than expected. The laboratory rebuilt and equipped under the project is testing seed according to international standards under the guidance of an FAO expert who is training the national technicians. The laboratory is testing and issuing valid certificates to seed produced all over the country which will enable BiH to soon export seed. The laboratory will soon be accredited by the International Seed Testing Agency which is the reference international agency for seed quality control. This part of the project has taken so much importance that it became a separate project with an independent budget.

As for the first objective of the project to produce specific amounts of seed, it was fully achieved for wheat, in terms of quantity and quality and achieved to a lesser extent in quantity but fully in quality for potato, bean, onion and alfalfa. Therefore, we can say that qualitatively, the project fully succeeded for this part and quantitatively to a lesser extent.

2.2 If so, what where the enabling conditions ?

The need for all activities of the project was great. This was of the main reason for success. The project was fully supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and the designated implementing partners, who saw its benefits.

Briefly, the enabling conditions could be, inter alia, the following:

1. The project was designed after an assessment mission which studied the needs of the country in terms of seed industry rehabilitation.
2. The project has been designed as an emergency activity bridged towards development. It started right after the end of hostilities with a long term objective. This is why the impact of the project has been so wide and was well appreciated by all collaborators.
3. All activities of the project were executed and decisions made after thorough and careful discussions with the national implementing partners and the ministries of agriculture. Several agricultural institutes were consulted for the choice of varieties and locations of planting. Trust in the project was gained from the nationals which made advice given by FAO experts of value to them.
4. Rapid action/quick response from FAO HQs for approval or disapproval on requests from the field rendered decision making quicker, allowing quicker action.
5. Coordination with other agencies dealing with seed distribution prevented overlap of activities, and FAO’s advice was well respected and sought.

2.3 If expected results were not achieved, why not?

1. Climatic conditions were not very favorable.
2. Problems with quality at the start of the project were more acute than what FAO consultants thought. This is why production figures improved during the second multiplication cycle after the establishment of the quality control laboratory.

Conclusions and Recommendations based on lessons learned

3.1 Conclusions

In spite of all the difficulties and constraints encountered by the project, it is considered as successful and has achieved its objectives to a large extent and in some cases more than expected. The project had a big impact on the rehabilitation of seed industry in the country and is considered as the only serious and organized attempt to rehabilitate it following international standards and imposing quality measures. In spite of its emergency nature, the project had a developmental objective which made the impact more anchored.

In addition to the ministries of agriculture, the project involved many national agricultural institutes, local producers, local suppliers, etc., and coordinated with other international agencies and NGOs dealing with seed distribution. This led to less mistakes and liability in decision making.

3.2 Recommendations

The following recommendation can be made:

1. Close consultation with the national authorities is very important. Besides the ministries of agriculture, the opinion of agricultural research institutes proved to be quite valuable for the decisions on technical aspects.
2. A thorough assessment of the situation prior to designing the project or writing the project document is quite important. Once the consultants or executers are in the field, and before making final decisions, a quick re-assessment of the situation in terms of needs (quantities and varieties), climatic conditions, other agencies’s involvement, market information etc… would be very useful.
3. Rapidity in action: this is what characterizes emergency operations even if they were bridged towards development. Any attempt to improve emergency operations towards more sustainability should not ignore this characteristic.
4. The consultants or experts should be aware of the political situation in the country.
5. Technically sound agricultural experts, with knowledge of different disciplines of agriculture would be very useful and would prevent many mistakes. Motivation and conscientiousness are important factors as well.

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