In a small village near Kiseljak, central Bosnia and Herzegovina, 27-year-old Mujo is harvesting some of the last crops of the season. Carefully parting the grass with his hands, he uncovers a large green watermelon. “I think this one is ripe,” he says before picking it up and taking it into the house to share with his family – his mother and younger brother.

Two years after the devastating floods that hit Bosnia and Herzegovina and threatened the livelihoods of many farmers, being able to harvest crops from his own field once again is a source of great satisfaction for Mujo and his family.

“For a year, we could not plant the fields because there was metal debris in the soil. The water swept away our fence, destroyed the greenhouse and raspberry plantation. The dirt buried the tiller and ploughs. The water torrent carried logs through our yard,” Mujo recalls, listing the damage caused by the floods on 4 October 2024.

In the early hours of that October morning, the family was awakened by a neighbor warning them that water was approaching the houses. “When we saw what was happening, that the water had almost reached our home, my brother ran out to save the dogs.”

Having broken his arm and leg in a tractor accident shortly before the floods, Mujo could only helplessly watch from the window. “The water kept rising and rising. We prayed for it to stop.”

Today, Mujo is once again active in farming.

In recovering from the damages caused by the October 2024 floods, he received support through the EU Support to Floods Recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina Project, funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

Through this project, 279 farmers from Drvar, Fojnica, Jablanica, Konjic, Kiseljak, Kreševo, Mostar and Vareš received assistance packages tailored to their individual needs. The packages included greenhouses, agricultural inputs, beekeeping equipment and small-scale agricultural machinery.

Mujo received a walk-behind tractor and mineral fertilisers.

“This assistance meant a lot to us. First of all, fertilisers are expensive, and it was a relief not to have to buy them ourselves,” he explains. Given the tractor accident he experienced, the walk-behind tractor has also made a significant difference. “The machine came at just the right time because I can operate it independently without worrying about having another accident. The other day we used it to harvest potatoes, and earlier we used it to plant vegetables. It really helped and made the work much easier.”

In addition to material assistance, all farmers received advisory support through the project to help them improve their production and strengthen their resilience to climate change. An agronomist regularly visits Mujo and his family, introducing them to new agricultural practices while also sharing traditional organic farming techniques.

After hail destroyed their crops, she gave them a series of recommendations on how to help the plants recover. “Only the stems of the peppers were left, nothing else. Then we did what the agronomist advised us to do, and new branches started growing,” Mujo says. “We had a harvest.”

As this year’s agricultural season draws to a close, farmers in flood-affected areas are already preparing for the next one, drawing on new knowledge and resources that can help them better prepare for future challenges.

The EU Support to Floods Recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina Project, worth EUR 20 million, is funded by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The project was designed to respond to the needs of people in communities directly affected by the natural disaster in October 2024, with a particular focus on socially and economically vulnerable people, large households, unemployed people, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

The project supports the rehabilitation and construction of housing units, the restoration of local communal infrastructure and public institutions, as well as assistance to agricultural producers and small and medium-sized enterprises in rebuilding their businesses.