LIMA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) is to help Peru in its campaign against drugs and in boosting its agricultural export, an EU official said here on Monday.

The EU has planned to grant more than 66 million euros (89.2 million U.S. dollars) from 2014 to 2017 to Peru. An initial allocation of 8 million euros would be applied to reducing production, trafficking and consumption of illicit drugs, and promote crop substitution programs, EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs was quoted by Peru's state news service Andina as saying.

The fight against illicit drugs and aid for boosting trade are also the fight against poverty, Piebalgs said, adding most of the aid would be spent on development in the poorest regions.

Peru's Foreign Affairs Minister Gonzalo Gutierrez and Executive President of the National Commission for Development and Life Without Drugs Alberto Otarola expressed their appreciation for the European aid, saying the aid will help promote the trade agreement signed between the EU and Peru, improve living conditions for the population and spur the war on drugs.

Peru has in the past 20 years succeeded in cutting down by two-thirds the areas of land used to cultivate coca, from 150,000 hectares to less than 49,000 hectares, according to official figures.