IPARD and Bosnia and Herzegovina: why farmers cannot apply yet and what to do

IPARD is the European Union instrument supporting agriculture and rural development in countries preparing for membership. This article is for farmers, processors and rural hosts in East Herzegovina who wonder why there are no IPARD calls in BiH.

In short

• According to the European Commission's IPARD page, IPARD III is currently used by Albania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. BiH is not on that list.
• The Commission's 2025 report on BiH (4 November 2025) says BiH still has to set up the institutional structures needed to benefit from IPARD. This is the position per that report and that page; check later steps with the competent institutions.
• The same report notes no progress on a paying agency, an integrated administration and control system (IACS) or a farm sustainability data network (FSDN).
• The Strategic plan for rural development 2023-2027 (framework document, endorsed October 2024) has not advanced, per the report.
• There is currently no IPARD call to apply to. Republika Srpska subsidies are available, paid by the RS Agencija za agrarna plaćanja.

Who it applies to

Any farmer, entrepreneur or company in BiH who has heard of IPARD grants (for machinery, processing or rural tourism) and is looking for a way to get them. According to the report and Commission page cited, nobody in BiH can submit an IPARD application for now.

What is missing

According to the Commission's 2025 report:

1. A paying agency and other administrative structures required for the EU common agricultural policy. The RS Agencija za agrarna plaćanja (Agency for Agrarian Payments) is not that: it pays only subsidies from the Republika Srpska budget and is not an IPARD paying agency.
2. Elements of IACS and the farm sustainability data network.
3. A multiannual countrywide agriculture and rural development strategy, better sector coordination and stronger administrative capacity at all levels of government.
4. A farm advisory service.

What to do

1. Do not pay intermediaries to "apply for IPARD" in BiH: no such public call exists.
2. Register your holding in the Registar poljoprivrednih gazdinstava (Register of Agricultural Holdings), as commercial or non-commercial. The RS rulebook requires this for subsidies, plus residence or seat in Republika Srpska and production on its territory.
3. Submit subsidy requests to the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja on the forms in the rulebook. Check the Agency page for current forms and notices.
4. Check the deadline for your measure (see below). Deadlines for 2026 have already passed for many measures, so plan for next year.
5. Keep invoices, records and investment documentation: you will need them later when IPARD opens.
6. Follow the Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of RS, which publish subsidy news.

Deadlines and amounts

The rulebook sets a separate deadline per measure, no later than the stated date of the current year. According to the rulebook text:

• 30 April: wheat, rapeseed.
• 30 June: agrotourism, rural development projects, soy and sunflower, fruit seedlings.
• 31 July: horse breeding, purchase of seedlings, knowledge and skills transfer.
• 31 August: premium per dairy cow, improvement of meadows and pastures.
• 30 September: most livestock premiums (heifers, cow-calf, sows, sheep and goats, queen bees) and insurance.
• 30 November: fruit, vegetables, honey (beekeeping), organic production, standardisation and branding.
• Milk: no later than the tenth of the month for the previous month.

This is a selection, not the full list. For a measure not listed here, find its deadline in the rulebook or ask the Agency. This article gives no subsidy amounts: they differ by measure and are checked in the rulebook.

Where to go

• Agencija za agrarna plaćanja of Republika Srpska: vladars.rs, Agency page
• Ministarstvo poljoprivrede, šumarstva i vodoprivrede RS and your municipal agriculture office.

Laws and sources

• Bosnia and Herzegovina 2025 Report, SWD(2025) 751 final, European Commission, 4 Nov 2025, chapter 11
• European Commission: IPARD III, participating countries
• Pravilnik o uslovima i načinu ostvarivanja novčanih podsticaja za razvoj poljoprivrede i sela, Službeni glasnik RS 16/2026, official text on the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja page
• Amendments to the rulebook, Službeni glasnik RS 27/2026, on the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja page
• The rulebook was later amended in Službeni glasnik RS 52/2026, 65/2026 and 80/2026. Check the current text for your measure with the Agencija za agrarna plaćanja.