Serbia is still a mainly rural country. 65% of its national territory is in farmland, a further 30% in forestry. Of its 7.2 million people, 58% live in rural areas, and about two thirds of these rely wholly or partly on agriculture or forestry for their livelihood. These industries produce about 10% of the nation’s GDP, and 23% of total Serbian exports; and employ 21% of the national labor force (as compared with the average of 5% in the EU). So, it is not surprising that Serbia, with its GDP per capita lower than any country in the EU and an unemployment rate of 23%, places high priority on sustaining and modernizing its agriculture.