Production potential of permanent grasslands in the Republic of Srpska and related employment opportunities

Aim of this paper is to provide a new perspective on the exploitation of local resources and employment of the population in the rural area of the Republic of Srpska. The paper focuses on permanent grasslands, which are now largely neglected production resource. The research was conducted using mathematical projections based on literature data. The projection showed that around 650,000 ha of permanent grasslands in the Republic of Srpska (RS) have an annual production potential of around 1.14 million tons of dry matter of forage (pasture and hay). Assuming that forage production from permanent grasslands is allocated into equal thirds, each third to lamb production, beef fattening and dairy cattle farming, permanent grasslands in the RS might support an annual production of around 610,000 lambs, 29,500 fattened two-year-old steers and 132,500 kg of saleable cow's milk. The total value of the potential of livestock production on permanent grasslands is estimated at around 415 million KM. If the average family farm needed an annual income from the sales of livestock products of around 100,000 KM, then the permanent grasslands of the RS could employ around 4,150 families. New jobs in the rural areas of the Republic of Srpska would lead to the settlement of new families in the rural areas and the generation of new and greater demand for a variety of goods and services, which has the potential to cause the so-called “multiplier effect”, where one new job enables the creation of a number of other new jobs (in trade, service activities, social activities such as sports, culture, recreation and others). The activation of large neglected areas of permanent grasslands in the Republic of Srpska would enable the revitalization of the rural area, stopping labor emigration, returning the labor emigrants to their homeland, and increasing the well-being of the people. Adequate policy measures might be needed to encourage the projected development.