Public Call for the Introduction of Innovations & IT in Agriculture (BiH)

Deadline: 23-Jun-23

The EU4AGRI project announces a new Public Call for potential users of grants for a measure of support for the introduction of innovations and information and communication technologies in the agricultural and food sector, worth 1.3 million KM.

EU4AGRI is a four-year (2020-2024) European Union project worth 20.25 million euros whose goal is to modernize the agricultural and food sector in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project is implemented and co-financed by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in BiH and the Czech Development Agency (CzDA).

Objectives of the support measure

• The general goal of this support measure is the modernization of the agricultural and food sector by introducing innovations and information and communication technologies into the agricultural and food sector of BiH.
• The implementation of this measure is expected to achieve specific goals:
  • Contribution to stabilizing and strengthening competitiveness and increasing the level of productivity of primary agricultural production and processing of agricultural products through modernization and introduction of new technologies, innovations and creation of added value of agricultural products;
  • Development of innovative software and ” Internet of Things”  solutions, as well as solutions that include the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the agricultural and food sector in BiH.
  • Facilitated access to new knowledge and information for primary agricultural producers and companies from the food industry related to new information technology solutions, through the strengthening of organizations that gather agricultural producers in an interesting and economic way and offer them organizational and advisory services.

Areas

• Support to the agricultural and food sector will be provided through public calls for support in three areas:
  • Investment in primary production and processing capacities in order to strengthen market efficiency,
  • Strengthening advisory services for improving knowledge and developing skills,
  • Strengthening and diversification of the rural economy.
  • The project will also provide technical assistance to the beneficiaries in order to use the available grant funds as successfully as possible.

Funding Information

• The funds available to support the introduction of innovations and information and communication technologies in agriculture and the food industry amount to 1,300,000 KM. by this public call .
• The amount of individual support amounts from 50,000 KM to a maximum of 200,000 KM .

Eligible sectors for support

All project proposals related to primary agricultural production and/or processing of agricultural products for human consumption are acceptable to support the introduction of innovations and information and communication technologies in the operations of business entities in the agri-food sector.

Expected results of the Public Call

• The support measure is in accordance with the Strategic Plan for Rural Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina (2018-2021) – Framework Document, namely Strategic Measure 6.3. Support for professional development, knowledge development and provision of advice and information.
• The measure to support the introduction of innovations and ICT in the agricultural and food sector will be implemented in 2023 and 2024.
• Through the implementation of this support measure, the following results are expected:
• At least 7 companies from the agri-food sector are introducing and using innovative software and IoT solutions to improve their business;
• At least 7 innovative software or IoT solutions for optimizing agricultural production and processing of agricultural products developed and put into use;
• At least 35 entities from the agricultural and food sector were introduced to the possibilities of new software solutions developed and implemented through this public call.

Eligible geographic region: As part of this public call, applications from eligible applicants registered on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina are acceptable.

Eligibility Criteria

The application is submitted exclusively in a partnership consisting of two members from the following categories:

• Category 1:
  • Micro, small and medium enterprises from the IT sector , which are registered for activities 62.0 (Computer programming, consulting and related activities) and/or 63.01 (Data processing, hosting services and related activities; Internet portal) to the standard classification of activities;
• Category 2:
  • Micro, small and medium enterprises from the agricultural and food sector , which can be:
    • Trades/independent entrepreneurs,
    • Cooperatives,
    • Companies, or
• Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (cooperatives, enterprises) that bring together agricultural producers or the population of rural areas in economic and interest terms, providing them with organizational and advisory support.
• The partnership must consist of two members, whereby the members of the partnership must be from different categories. The applicant can be from either of the two categories.
• For each project, the applicant must ensure his own co-financing in the amount of at least 30 % of the total amount of eligible costs related to the procurement of equipment and services. The part of the project budget related to the development of software or IoT solutions is fully borne by the EU4AGRI project. Co-financing must be monetary, and participation of any other kind will not be taken into account.
• All members of the partnership must also meet the following general eligibility criteria:
  • Business registration in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina before June 30, 2021;
  • Positive business in 2022;
  • They have no overdue and outstanding tax obligations (direct and indirect taxes) and other duties, including those due to employees, income tax and other overdue and outstanding obligations;
  • Are not in the process of pre-bankruptcy settlement or liquidation;
  • The owner or responsible person of the applicant has not been convicted of a criminal offense related to his business on the basis of a final judgment;
  • The owner and/or responsible person of the applicant does not hold a public office;
  • Accept the obligation to share the experience of the effects of the investment that is the subject of the project proposal with other interested operators from the agricultural and food sector;
  • In the ownership structure, they do not have a share of public capital or voting rights of that public capital.
• Additionally, category 2 partnership members must:
  • Be registered in the register of agricultural holdings/ register of clients/ register of beekeepers/ register of producers of planting material no later than 30.06.2021. years.
  • Applicants may submit only one application to this public call and may be involved in only one partnership.
  • The appearance of the same partner organization in multiple applications results in the exclusion of all those applications from the evaluation process.

Ineligible applicants

• Projects will not consider or grant support to applicants who are found to:
  • Submitted untrue and incorrect information and accompanying documentation through the application;
  • Are in the process of pre-bankruptcy settlement or liquidation;
  • They are not registered on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
  • did not fulfill obligations to pay due taxes and contributions for pension and health insurance in accordance with legal provisions (applicants who have concluded a contract with tax authorities in BiH on debt service will not be taken into consideration);
  • They have not settled all obligations towards their employees on any basis;
  • Have been convicted of a criminal offense related to their business based on a final judgment;
  • In the past 3 years, they have unfulfilled obligations for the allocated incentive measures of the entity ministries, that is, the relevant institutions of the Brčko District of BiH (BD);
  • Public capital or voting rights of that public capital in the ownership structure;
  • Have achieved a negative business result in 2022;
  • Who have more than 250 employees;
  • The owner and/or responsible person hold a public office, or are employed in government institutions.

For more information, visit EU4AGRI Project.