Ministers Pasalic and Rajcevic Visited the Institute for Genetic Resources 

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Srpska Boris Pasalic and Minister of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska Srdjan Rajcevic visited on the 15th of July 2019 the Institute for Genetic Resources at the University of Banja Luka.

Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management of the Republic of Srpska Boris Pasalic said that the relevant ministries support the work of the Institute for Genetic Resources, which preserves native old, indigenous plant species that are the source of resistance genes, as today's cultivated crops are acceptable to the market, but are very susceptible to diseases and pests.

„A great number of indigenous species held by the Institute help us improve the health status of cultivated plants as part of the selection“, Pasalic emphasized and added that they will work on expanding the staff and material capacities of the Institute, which maintains the bank of genes of the Republic of Srpska.

Minister of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society of the Republic of Srpska Srdjan Rajcevic said that the Institute, as a scientific research institution, is the pride of the Republic of Srpska.

Minister Rajcevic also emphasized that the relevant ministries will support further development and capacity improvement of this institution. He stressed that this is important, because the promotion of scientific research and the improvement of scientific productivity at public universities in the Republic of Srpska is one of the main goals in the program of the relevant ministry.

The meeting was also attended by the rector of the University of Banja Luka, Professor Radoslav Gajanin, PhD, who emphasized that the Institute is a significant organizational unit of the University, which stands out by the number of projects completed.

„They also work on preserving the genetic resources and they supervise the protected area of the University, i.e. the campus“, Rector Gajanin said.

Director of the Institute for Genetic Resources at the University of Banja Luka, Professor Gordana Djuric, PhD, thanked the ministries for their support and added that it is important to ensure the further development of this institution as genetic resources are the basis for ensuring nutrition and food security for humans and animals.

She said, among other things, that there are 21 employees at the Institute, including five Ph.D. She added that the Institute has good cooperation with international institutes.