Agricultural Cooperatives and Unions of Cooperatives in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Opportunities for Improvement in Providing Services and Educational Programs for Farmers

There have been major changes in the agricultural structure in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The remade cooperatives and the unions of cooperatives are struggling. This paper examines the needs of the agricultural cooperatives in order for them to be more successful, and identifies what support will likely come from the unions of cooperatives and what support must come from other sources. Data were obtained through: 1) questionnaires to a large group of cooperatives, 2) focus groups with a smaller number of cooperatives, and 3) personal interviews with union of cooperatives representatives. The findings indicate that the unions of cooperatives are working on issues such as registering and auditing cooperatives and resolving land ownership conflicts. The cooperatives also need help in business management, marketing, legal services, and organizational effectiveness. The unions will not be able to help in these areas so nongovernmental organizations will need to provide these educational programming for farmers