In the period between 1945.- 1992. Olovo was developed as an industrial town primarily based on the development of wood-processing and textile industry . A transit position and proximity to Sarajevo positively influenced the development of Olovo town.

In the postwar period a private company Alma Ras was run. Today 800 employees work there.

A special place in the economy of the Municipality holds a mine located in the riverbed of Bioštica and has significant reserves of ores of lead, which even in the Middle Ages were exploited in the area of the municipality and Olovo was named after the mining resources exploited at the time.

A significant moment for the strategic orientation of the municipality is the use of natural water resources for the purpose of constructing and installing mini hydropower plants. It is a series of projects in order to activate and exploit existing potential for the production of electricity.

 

Agriculture

Analysis of natural conditions and gained ground shows that it is possible to develop the following lines of food production successfully at the area of Olovo municipiality:

  • The production of meat and milk based on breeding cattle, sheep and goats;
  • Poultry;
  • Fish breeding;
  • The production of vegetables;
  • The production of fruits;
  • The production of aromatic plants and herbs;
  • Beekeeping.

Production and processing of meat consists of the following technological complexes:

  • Production of roughage forage;
  • Production of concentrated forage;
  • Cultivation and fattening;
  • Milk processing;
  • Meatprocessing.

The long-term goals of developing vegetable growing at the area of the municipality are the following:

  • Converting small agricultural holdings(farms) in commodity producers,
  • Produce vegetables and vegetable products to meet the needs of the population, local tourism and the competitive marketing position outside the municipality,
  • Development of the vegetable processing in purpose to employ the population and achieve better financial effects of these production lines.

In programming the development of horticulture the attention should be paid on:

  • Organization of cultivation indigenous fruit species in these areas and
  • Organization of cultivation of wild berries that grow wild in these areas with the breeding of new species that can adapt to this climate.

The analysis of natural conditions shows that in these areas there are very widespread diverse types of wild forest fruit (hawthorn, cornelian cherry, wild cherry, wild rose, wild pear, wild apple, hazelnut), and natural conditions are favorable for the breeding of new species such as Canadian blueberry ,etc.

Organization of the breeding requires the production of planting material, therefore suitable forest nurseries have already existed on the ground of municipality. The production of planting material in existing nurseries is under the supervision of professional staff.

Natural conditions for the processing of aromatic plants and herbs on the grounds of the municipality give a chance to achieve high financial effects by good organization of primary production and finalization because in addition to the natural conditions products from these product lines have unlimited market in the near and distant surroundings.

The initial steps are within forest nurseries. Design and design organization processing, even training of individual producers to prepare primary production of such plants are on farms.

The natural conditions for development of beekeeping in these areas are very suitable from the point of production of bee products of high quality forest honey, which has the best rating in the market.

 

Forestry

Cultivation, care and forest harvesting

There are a few segments which are very important and they should be related to mutual functional connections with other economic areas in acess programming exploitation of forests as a renewable natural resource.

Systematization of these segments can be done in many ways:

  • The concessions giving for using forest resources and harmonization of interests of providers and users of concessions;
  • Growing and harvesting of wood;
  • Nursery production;
  • The use of forestry land and wild plants with processing;
  • Forest tourism development.