As a potential candidate for EU membership, Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently designing and implementing several subcomponents of an agricultural information system. In accordance with the Strategic Plan for the Rural Development of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2018–2021, the system of professional information, training and advisory services will be strengthened by developing common training programmes, certification systems, an information exchange portal, and monitoring and evaluation of the system’s quality. Among farmers the detected need is to have an instrument in agriculture able to scientifically elaborate agrometeorological data that can endanger plant production with a view to provoking a prompt response from local producers to protect their production systems.

There are different stakeholders active in the process of change that can be divided into institutional and non-institutional stakeholders. All of them have an active role in the changing process but ultimately the most affected by the challenges in the sector are farmers and agricultural associations, cooperatives, primary holdings, food business operators (producers, processors, particularly export-oriented), entrepreneurs, young people, women and the rural population in general. All of them operate in the agricultural system and would have a great improvement with a more stable and protected production. Institutional stakeholders in agriculture and rural development: 1) The BiH Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, through its Department for Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Rural Development. At the level of both entities, there are Ministries of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, and the ministries in the ten cantons in the Federation of BiH. 2) The BiH Veterinary Office and the BIH Plant Health Protection Administration, the BIH Food Safety Agency contributing to harmonization of food regulations with the Union acquis. 3) The FBIH Institute for Agriculture, FBIH Agri-Mediterranean Institute and the RS Agricultural Institute have important roles in providing agricultural service. 4) Institute for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology of the University of Sarajevo and the RS Agricultural Institute and Institute of Genetic Resources of the University of Banja Luka. Non institutional stakeholders: all of them gave their contribution in terms of feedback and data collecting and on-field tryouts: 1) Agricultural producers or rural households engaged in agricultural production in BIH. 2) Agricultural associations and cooperatives. 3) Farmers and agricultural associations, cooperatives, primary holdings, food business operators (producers, processors, particularly export-oriented), entrepreneurs, young people, women and the rural population in general.

Carpo is an Agrometeorological Web Reporting and Prognostic System developed by DRAXIS for the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry of the Republic of Srpska and was funded by the UNDP. Draxis states:“The system uses observations from the ministry’s network of agrometeorological stations, weather forecasts from numerical weather prediction systems and deterministic biological models to produce pest and disease forecasts for different crop types cultivated in the country.” Therefore, based on these forecasts the system is producing alerts and notifications for the users, farmers, agronomists and stakeholders, in order to take all the necessary actions to protect their crops. Also, through the system, users have the ability to report a disease occurrence to service advisers or to upload photos of affected crops and to improve models results by adjusting model parameters with real situation in their fields. On the medium and long term, this best practice affects positively the management of the rural holdings, giving to farmers practical information regarding parameters that can negatively affect their production. This involves modifying not only the type of intervention required but also the timing of interventions, giving a tailored solution to a problem at the exact time it occurs. A more stable production means a more secure flow of income and therefore wellness in agriculture-centered areas.

The lack of awareness of the potential benefits of digitalization in agriculture, the insufficient use of digital system for forecast prediction, can block the replication and scaling-up of these technologies. Therefore, this app was created in accordance and in full collaboration with the main stakeholder of the areas institutional representative and related department, scientists and researchers working in the sector of agriculture, and local farmers which are the final users of this app. Carpo is a plant protection mobile application for fruit producers developed by the public sector. Another similar tool are: the Agrometeorological Web Reporting and Prognostic System of the Ministry of Agriculture, Water Management and Forestry funded by UNDP and Farmer.ba. The first is a system that uses observations from various sources and platforms to produce pest and disease forecasts for crops that are cultivated in the country and alerts farmers and users to take necessary actions, the second created by the private sector, is an e-commerce platform offering farm-to-fork solutions for local agricultural products, for a better connection between farmers and consumers.