The Fruits and Vegetables of Their Labor
Twenty-one landmine survivors and LSN staff members from Bosnia-Herzegovina participated in a Greenhouse Vegetable Production and Marketing training program in March. A local agricultural non-governmental organization (NGO), Bosnian Perspectives (BOSPER) provided the training, which covered topics such as choosing which vegetables might be the most profitable to grow, as well as planting, irrigation, and using fertilizers and pesticides. LSN also arranged for experts from a local agricultural marketing organization to teach participants about how to maintain freshness, and the importance of packaging.
During the training, participants also learned about the benefits of growing vegetables in greenhouses. Plastic greenhouses can both improve growth rates and inhibit certain crop diseases, which reduce the number of pesticides needed on vegetables. All of the program graduates have access to small plots of land and have engaged in subsistence farming. With LSN’s assistance, they will purchase plastic greenhouses in the next few months.
Samir Mujkic, a graduate from the program, is currently studying agronomy at Tuzla University in Bosnia. “The revenue I will produce from the vegetables in my new greenhouse will support me in school,” says Mujkic. “After I earn my degree, I will offer training to other survivors that want to become vegetable producers.” Mujkic and the other survivors who participated in the program look forward to an improved standard of living, and the satisfaction of being participants in Bosnia-Herzegovina’s bourgeoning economy.
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