SARAJEVO, July 30 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) has allocated a total of 2.1 million euros (2.3 million U.S. dollars) of financial support to companies dealing with agriculture in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Delegation of the EU to BiH stated in a press release on Tuesday.

During the grant awards ceremony here on Monday, 10 agricultural holdings were given grants through EU4Business project, aiming primarily the creation of new jobs.

Head of the Delegation of the EU in BiH Lars-Gunnar Wigemark noted that the EU is ready to support farmers and rural population in the country, where 60 percent of its citizens live in the rural areas.

"In the EU, farmers are the backbone of the economy and they should be the backbone of BiH," Wigemark said, expressing his hope that the grants will encourage users to adjust to the EU standards and strengthen the sector.

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Resident Representative in BiH Sukhrob Koshmukhamedov pointed out that there are 125,000 registered farms in BiH, with roughly 35.0 percent of the agricultural exports going to the EU countries.

He explained that modernization of production and strengthening of competitiveness through the introduction of new technologies and innovations in the agri-food sector are the main aims of the grant.

Starting from April 2018 and lasting until March 2022, the EU4Business project will also support investments in processing and marketing for projects related to vegetable, fruit, grape, olives and dairy.