EU support for agri-food and rural tourism in BiH: what was funded and where calls appear

This article explains what the European Union funded in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the agri-food sector and rural tourism, whether any call is open now, and where new calls are announced. It concerns farmers, food processors, organisations developing tourism offers and municipalities.

In short

• EU4AGRI ran from 2020 to 2025. The EU contributed EUR 20 million, and the total value including co-financing was about EUR 20.25 million. It was run by UNDP in BiH and the Czech Development Agency. The project has ended and its results were presented in June 2025.
• Calls covered processing and marketing, primary production, standards and certification, digitalisation, diversification of rural activities and rural tourism.
• The last agricultural call in the UNDP register (primary production) closed in February 2024. On 6 October 2026 the register shows no open EU call for agriculture or rural tourism. This refers only to the UNDP register; other EU programmes and calls by entity-level institutions are not covered.
• BiH is not among the countries using IPARD III (Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye), so it has no IPARD subsidies like Serbia and Montenegro.
• UNDP publishes the calls at javnipoziv.undp.ba. Check it regularly.

Who it applies to

Earlier calls were open to companies, craft businesses, cooperatives, farmers, local governments and organisations developing tourism offers, depending on the call. The conditions of any new call must be read in its guidelines.

What was funded

• Rural tourism, 2020 (per the 2020 call announcement): BAM 2.55 million call, partnership of the applicant and at least three partners, grant BAM 20,000 to 200,000 excluding VAT, own contribution at least 15 percent. Deadline was 21 December 2020.
• Rural tourism, December 2021: BAM 3.5 million call under EU4AGRI, EU4AGRI-Recovery and EU4Business Recovery (the EU allocated EUR 38 million to the three projects). The applicant had to have at least two partners, grant BAM 50,000 to 250,000 excluding VAT, own contribution at least 15 percent. The deadline was originally 7 March 2022; the UNDP register shows 15 March 2022.
• Processing and marketing (per 2020 announcements): BAM 3 million call, grant BAM 60,000 to 300,000, own contribution at least 35 percent. An EU4Business call of BAM 1.8 million for companies and cooperatives with a network of suppliers closed on 8 June 2020.
• Later calls covered primary production, standards, digitalisation, climate adaptation and diversification of rural activities (2022 to 2024).
• The most recent tourism-related UNDP calls were Via Dinarica III (accommodation infrastructure and tourism offer, 20 January to 17 February 2026), also closed.

What to do

1. Open javnipoziv.undp.ba and check which calls are open.
2. For each call read the guidelines: who may apply, minimum and maximum amount, own contribution, deadline.
3. Check whether the call covers your municipality and entity. For example, on 6 October 2026 the only open entry in the register is a call by the Federalno ministarstvo okoliša i turizma (Federal Ministry of Environment and Tourism), "Tekući transferi drugim nivoima vlasti i fondovima, Transfer za razvoj turizma u Federaciji BiH" (transfer for tourism development in the Federation of BiH) for 2026, Program 3A and 3B, with a deadline of 21 October 2026. It is not an EU programme and does not apply to Republika Srpska.
4. Submit the application the way and by the deadline stated in the call. For rural tourism expect a partnership, not a single applicant.

Where to go

• UNDP call register in BiH
• For subsidies in Republika Srpska: Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede Republike Srpske (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management), which publishes the yearly rulebook on cash incentives for agricultural and rural development, or the agricultural service of your municipality.

Laws and sources

• Public call for rural tourism investments, UNDP, 24 December 2021
• UNDP call register in BiH
• Results of the EU4AGRI project, EU Delegation to BiH, 3 June 2025
• Overview of IPARD III, European Commission