FAO Priorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
FAO’s Country Programming Framework (CPF) for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2021–2025 serves as FAO’s strategic planning and programming document for the country, setting medium‑term priorities to address challenges across the agri‑food system. The CPF is closely aligned with national policy instruments, notably the Food‑Based Dietary Guidelines for Bosnia and Herzegovina and sectoral strategies for agriculture, rural development and food safety, and is coordinated with the United Nations Partnership for Sustainable Development 2021–2025. The CPF also aligns with FAO’s global Strategic Framework 2022–2031 and with relevant EU and multilateral funding priorities to ensure coherence in resource mobilisation and technical support. Priority objectives include strengthening food‑system resilience and climate‑sensitive production, improving the availability, affordability and safety of nutrient‑dense foods, and empowering smallholders and family farms through municipal SDG‑localisation pilots. The framework guides FAO’s partnerships, programme delivery and policy engagement to translate national guidance into locally relevant interventions that link production, markets and household diets.
It supports the “four betters”: better production, nutrition, environment, and life—accelerated through technology, innovation, data, and governance. FAO’s Regional Initiatives in Europe and Central Asia guide the CPF’s design:
- RI-1: Inclusive rural transformation through digitalisation and innovation.
- RI-2: Food systems transformation and market integration.
- RI-3: Sustainable resource management and biodiversity protection.
The current CPF builds on past achievements in gender-sensitive agriculture, e-agriculture, and value chain development. New priorities reflect FAO’s added value and the country’s evolving needs, with emphasis on:
- Agricultural data and rural digitalisation
- Climate change adaptation
- Support to municipalities, communities, and local authorities
- Public awareness and behaviour change in areas like land management and climate action
Strategic Priority 1: Sustainable, resilient and inclusive growth
Outcome 1
By 2025 people benefit from resilient, inclusive and sustainable growth through aligned economic development and natural resource management.
Although agriculture's value added (BAM 1.6–1.8 billion) and exports have grown, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s fragmented agrifood sector — many smallholders disconnected from markets, low productivity, outdated practices and rising climate and disease risks — needs FAO support to align with EU standards, strengthen value chains and digitalisation, promote women and youth entrepreneurship, and scale climate‑smart, One Health and disaster‑risk measures to improve resilience, inclusion and rural incomes.
Key CPF outputs
By 2025, authorities and communities will have the capacities and instruments to implement resilience-oriented measures for climate adaptation and mitigation, disaster risk reduction and control of transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases. FAO will deepen engagement with the Green Climate Fund and support implementation of NDCs, including LULUCF and low‑carbon agriculture projects. The organization will strengthen state and non‑state institutions for project pipeline development and scale Farmer Field Schools to deliver practical skills on soil fertility, water management, DRR and climate adaptation. FAO will integrate One Health and AMR actions through multi‑stakeholder partnerships and targeted capacity building for veterinary and customs inspection services.
CPF Output 1.2 — Authorities equipped to make policies more competitive, sustainable and resilient
FAO will support the Council of Ministers and relevant ministries to align food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary standards with the EU acquis and related international instruments, strengthen institutional capacities for food safety and SPS governance, and harmonise agricultural information systems (LPIS, animal ID, FADN, AMIS, phytosanitary register) to enable traceability, early warning and export promotion. FAO will deliver analytical studies to inform policy and market strategies (for example vitivinicultural zoning), extend technical assistance to municipalities for local, value chain‑centred rural development using the LEADER approach, and help design a national food loss and waste reduction strategy with training on measurement and reporting.
CPF Output 1.3 — Rural communities and private sector able to apply sustainable growth principles
FAO will help smallholder farmers, fisherfolk, women and youth access alternative incomes, finance, innovation and digital agriculture, and will assess beneficiary readiness for value‑chain integration. Less‑advanced producers will receive structured capacity‑building and access to finance while Farmer Field Schools demonstrate climate‑smart and sustainable practices. FAO will catalyse women‑ and youth‑led agro‑entrepreneurship through targeted support to finance, technology, markets and business management, foster networked solutions, and develop a geographical indication system to boost exports, local tourism and value capture for communities.
CPF Output 1.4 — Authorities and communities managing natural resources sustainably
FAO will work with state and entity ministries to develop coherent policies and initiatives for environmental protection and sustainable resource management, prioritising sustainable forest management, agroforestry, ecosystem‑based fisheries, land degradation neutrality and climate‑smart livestock and pasture management. Planned actions include plantation site assessments and technical guidelines for fast‑growing species, afforestation and sustainable land management measures aligned with UNCCD reporting, and support for the Peace Forest Initiative to restore land and sequester carbon.