VZCZCXRO8773
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHVJ #1163 1491349
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 291349Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY SARAJEVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6293
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SARAJEVO 001163 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR (DICARLO), EUR/SCE 
(HOH/FOOKS/STINCHCOMB), PRM (OLSON) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: BK PHUM PREF PREL
SUBJECT: BOSNIA - 2007 PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR PRM 
AMBASSADOR'S FUND FOR REFUGEES 
 
REF: SECSTATE 27884 
 
¶1. (U) This is an action request, see paragraphs 3 and 4. 
 
¶2. (U) In response to PRM's announced renewal of the 
Ambassador's Fund for Refugees for the seventh year (ref), we 
have identified a critical gap in returnee assistance and 
protection for FY 07.  Last year PRM provided funding for the 
electrification of ten homes in the eastern Republika Srpska 
returnee village of Glogova.  The USG donation encouraged 
additional financing of the project by UNHCR, the local power 
company Elektroprivreda and the municipality.  Media coverage 
of the Ambassador's visit to implement the project was 
widespread and well-received.  After consultations with local 
organizations assisting minority returns and through personal 
filed visits, we have identified the following project for FY 
07 funding through the Ambassador's Fund for Refugees. 
 
¶3. (U) Post requests $10,000 in funding for the purchase of 
milking machines and sanitary milk pails for distribution 
among a cooperative of Serb returnees in Drvar Municipality. 
Drvar is located in what has traditionally been one of 
Bosnia's poorest areas, but has one of the highest 
percentages of post-war returns with more than 8000 Serbs now 
living in the municipality.  However, the region's depressed 
economy threatens the sustainability of those who have 
returned, and the development of agriculture towards 
commercially-focused production has become one of the 
region's greatest opportunities for economic development.  In 
2005, members of the returnee agricultural cooperative 
"Drvar" received cattle from the International Orthodox 
Christian Charities (IOCC) aid agency under a USDA-funded 
program. In March 2007, after increasing the size of their 
herds, the cooperative began a milk collection program with 
one of Bosnia's largest dairies, "Meggle."  Although the 
collection is going well, the milk is being slowly and 
laboriously collected by hand and the cooperative worries the 
dairy will lose interest if farmers cannot produce the 
expected quantity and quality of milk. 
 
¶4. (U)  The distribution of milking machines and proper milk 
pails to 20 members of the cooperative will enable the 
farmers to increase milk collection by almost 600 percent and 
will directly assist more than 150 members of the community. 
With a grant of $10,000, each individual beneficiary will 
receive one milking machine and two 20-liter milk pails.  The 
milking machines will help to reduce the labor intensity of 
daily milking, indirectly encouraging farmers to expand their 
capacity and invest in their post-war return.  The milk pails 
will help to ensure the quality and sanitary handling of the 
milk as the buyer requires, providing the buyer with greater 
confidence in the farmers and possibly leading to a stronger 
contractual commitment.  These two mutually reinforcing 
elements should indirectly influence farmers to increase 
their herds which will lead to rise in their cash income, 
thus promoting an air of greater permanency to their returns. 
 IOCC would match our donation with resources available 
through an ongoing USDA-funded agricultural development 
project, doubling the number of beneficiaries reached through 
this donation. 
 
¶5. (U) If approved, Post will implement and manage project 
funds and will ensure appropriate monitoring and follow-up. 
Post will arrange for media coverage to promote the 
implementation of the fund and will use the occasion to 
highlight our support of minority returns in Bosnia and 
Herzegovina. 
MCELHANEY