Although

agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

is the second-largest sector in the

economy An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

depends on

imports An importer is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. Import is part of the International Trade which involves buying and receivin ...

in most foods. Climatic conditions and poor soils limit farm output, and domestic food production meets about 25% of demand. Domestic conditions limit output, while income and population growth have increased food consumption. Because of low rainfall, agricultural projects like the

Kufra Kufra () is a basinBertarelli (1929), p. 514. and oasis group in the Kufra District of southeastern Cyrenaica in Libya. At the end of the 19th century, Kufra became the centre and holy place of the Senussi order. It also played a minor role in ...

Oasis rely on underground water sources. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the

Great Man-made River The Great Man-Made River (GMMR, , ) is a network of pipes that supplies fresh water obtained from the Nubian Sandstone Aquifer System fossil aquifer across Libya. It is the world's largest irrigation project. The project utilizes a pipeline syst ...

(GMMR), but significant resources are being invested in

desalinization Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is soil desalination. This is important for agriculture. It is possible ...

research to meet growing demand. Libyan agricultural projects and policies are overseen by a General Inspector; there is no Ministry of Agriculture, ''per se''.

History of agricultural development

Historically, Libyan agriculture has had an inverse relationship to growth in the oil industry. In 1958, agriculture supplied over 26% of

GDP Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

. Although gross agricultural production was relatively constant, increasing oil revenues resulted in declines in agriculture's share of

national income A variety of measures of national income and output are used in economics to estimate total economic activity in a country or region, including gross domestic product (GDP), Gross national income (GNI), net national income (NNI), and adjusted nati ...

. Agriculture contributed 9% of GDP in 1962, 2% in 1978, 3.5% in 1984 and 5.6% by 1997. In 1977 imported food valuations were over 37 times higher than in 1958. However, while a large part of oil wealth was spent on imported food this was not necessarily disturbing. The 1950s agricultural sector masked high

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

, low productivity and limited alternatives.

Petrodollars Petrodollar recycling is the international spending or investment of a country's revenues from petroleum exports ("petrodollars"). It generally refers to the phenomenon of major petroleum-exporting states, mainly the OPEC members plus Russia ...

provided urban employment, resulting in higher rural migration. In 1961-63, government loans to buy land from

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

settlers, encouraged them to purchase land for recreation rather than farming, thereby inflating values and reducing production.

Libyan Soils

Soils characteristics in Libya are affected to the great extent by nature and conditions in which these soils were formed. Generally, aridity is the main characterizes of such soils. Most of these soils are undeveloped or partially developed. According to the United States soil classification, Aridisols and Entisols are the major soil orders in the country. Salt affected soils are spread in the coastal area as Salic Haplocambids, Typic Aquisalids, Typic Haplosalids, Typic Haplocalcids, Lithic Haplocalcids, and Typical Torriorthents.

Agriculture since 1962

Since 1962 agriculture has received more attention. The government bag began providing inducements for absentee landlords to encourage productive

land use Land use is an umbrella term to describe what happens on a parcel of land. It concerns the benefits derived from using the land, and also the land management actions that humans carry out there. The following categories are used for land use: fo ...

and initiated agricultural wage policies. Agricultural was the cornerstone of the 1981-85 development plan, attaching high priority to funding the GMMR project, designed to bring water from aquifers in

Sarir Sarir or Serir was a medieval Christians, Christian state lasting from the 6th or 7th century to the 12th century in the mountainous regions of modern-day Dagestan in southern Russia. Its name is derived from the Arabic word for "throne" and re ...

and

. In 1981, the National Libyan Agricultural Bank provided agricultural credit totaling almost 10,000

loans In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the debt ( ...

averaging nearly LD1,500 each. This may explain why many Libyans (nearly 20% of the

labor force In macroeconomics, the workforce or labour force is the sum of people either working (i.e., the employed) or looking for work (i.e., the unemployed): \text = \text + \text Those neither working in the marketplace nor looking for work are out ...

in 1984) remained in the agricultural sector. By 1997, about 17% of the labor force worked in agriculture. In 1984, Libya imported over 2 million mt of

cereals A cereal is a grass cultivated for its edible grain. Cereals are the world's largest crops, and are therefore staple foods. They include rice, wheat, rye, oats, barley, millet, and maize (Corn). Edible grains from other plant families, suc ...

(up from 612,000 mt in 1974). Also in 1984, the average index of food production

per capita ''Per capita'' is a Latin phrase literally meaning "by heads" or "for each head", and idiomatically used to mean "per person". Social statistics The term is used in a wide variety of social science, social sciences and statistical research conte ...

indicated a 6% decline from 1974 to 1976. Through the 1980s about 70% of Libya's food needs were imported. By 1998, cereal production was 207,000 mt and met only 15% of the country's needs.National Economies Encyclopedia: Libya Agriculture

Production

Libya produced in 2018: * 348 thousand tons of

potato The potato () is a starchy tuberous vegetable native to the Americas that is consumed as a staple food in many parts of the world. Potatoes are underground stem tubers of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'', a perennial in the nightshade famil ...

; * 236 thousand tons of

watermelon The watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Cucurbitaceae, that has a large, edible fruit. It is a Glossary of botanical terms#scandent, scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, and is plant breeding ...

; * 215 thousand tons of

tomato The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...

; * 188 thousand tons of

olive The olive, botanical name ''Olea europaea'' ("European olive"), is a species of Subtropics, subtropical evergreen tree in the Family (biology), family Oleaceae. Originating in Anatolia, Asia Minor, it is abundant throughout the Mediterranean ...

; * 183 thousand tons of

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

; * 176 thousand tons of

date Date or dates may refer to: * Date, the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'') * Jujube, also known as red date or Chinese date, the fruit of ''Ziziphus jujuba'' Social activity *Dating, a form of courtship involving social activi ...

; * 138 thousand tons of

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

; * 93 thousand tons of

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

; * 72 thousand tons of

vegetable Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including edible flower, flo ...

; * 60 thousand tons of

plum A plum is a fruit of some species in Prunus subg. Prunus, ''Prunus'' subg. ''Prunus'.'' Dried plums are often called prunes, though in the United States they may be labeled as 'dried plums', especially during the 21st century. Plums are ...

; * 53 thousand tons of

orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

; In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.

Land use and irrigation

The total area of Libya is estimated at 1,760,000 km². Area suitable for cultivation approximates 22,000 km² of which 2,390 km² dedicated to irrigated agriculture, 15,500 km² to rain fed farming, and 140,000 km² of forest and range lands. Under 2% of the land is

arable Arable relates to the growing of crops: * Arable farming or agronomy, the cultivation of field crops * Arable land, land upon which crops are cultivated * Arable crops program, a consolidated support system operated under the EU Common Agricultura ...

and about 4% is suitable for grazing

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

. Most arable land is in the Jebel Akhdar region near

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

, and the Jifara Plain near

Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...

. The highest parts of Jebel Akhdar receive 400-600 mm of rain annually, and the adjacent area, north to Marj Plain, receives 200–400 mm. Central and eastern Jifara Plain and Jabal Nafusa average 200 to 400 mm. The remaining coast and southern areas average 100–200 mm. Jifara Plain has an underground

aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...

, enabling well-driven

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

. Between these areas is a 50 km land strip with enough scrub vegetation to support livestock. Desert dominates the south with occasional

oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSabha and

Murzuk Murzuk, Murzuq, Murzug or Merzug () is an oasis town and the capital of the Murzuq District in the Fezzan region of southwest Libya.Robinson, Harry (1960) "Murzuq" ''The Mediterranean Lands'' University Tutorial Press, London, p. 414 It lies on ...

. Studies from the 1970s indicated that at any given time, about one-third of total arable land remained

fallow Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store Organic compound, organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting ...

and up to 45% of farms were under 10 ha. Most farms in the Jifara Plain were irrigated by individual wells and electric pumps, although in 1985 only about 1% of arable land was irrigated. Since 1969, the

Gaddafi Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...

government has been very concerned with

land reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

. After the "al-Fatah" revolution, confiscated Italian-owned farms (about 380 km²) were redistributed. The state retained some confiscated lands for state farming ventures, but overall, the government has not sought to eliminate the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The private sector employs most of the workfo ...

from agriculture. In 1971, uncultivated land was declared state property. This measure targeted

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

s in the Jebel Akhdar claiming large land tracts. Another law in 1977 further restricted tribal groups, emphasizing use in determining land ownership. Since 1977 families receive enough land to satisfy their personal requirements; this policy was designed to prevent large private sector farms and end using fertile "tribal" lands for

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to free range (roam around) and consume wild vegetations in order to feed conversion ratio, convert the otherwise indigestible (by human diges ...

. Partly as a result of these policies and

Islamic Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

inheritance law, which stipulate each son receive an equal share of land upon the father's death, in 1986 farms tended to be fragmented and too small to efficiently use water. This was especially severe in the Jifara Plain, which has been Libya's single most productive agricultural region. Falling water tables caused by over irrigation posed a long-term

ecological Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere levels. Ecology overlaps with the closely re ...

threat. The government recognized this in 1976, and took measures discouraging

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

and tomato cultivation, which require large water amounts. However, the steps required to save coastal water resources – i.e., irrigation regulation and land tenure reform to make it more water-efficient - conflicted with Gaddafi's concept of economic equity, which favored intensive irrigated cultivation of small plots for family use. Thus, instead of reforming harmful practices, agricultural policy since 1983 focused on pumping water to the coast from

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserve ...

reserves in the desert as part of the GMMR project.

Libyan Soils

Soils and their characteristics in Libya are affected to the great extent by nature and conditions in which these soils were formed. Generally, aridity is the main characterizes of such soils. Most of these soils are undeveloped or partially developed. According to the United States soil classification, Aridisols and Entisols are the major soil orders in the country. Salt affected soils are spread in the coastal area as Salic Haplocambids, Typic Aquisalids, Typic Haplosalids, Typic Haplocalcids, Lithic Haplocalcids, and Typical Torriorthents.

Fishing

Although Libya has nearly 1,800 km of

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

and the second largest continental shelf in the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, its waters are not particularly rich in

plankton Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms that drift in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) but are unable to actively propel themselves against ocean current, currents (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are ca ...

needed to sustain fishing waters. In 1977, Libya's fishing catch was 4,803 tons and 6,418 tons by 1981. Most fleets were located on the western coast near Tripoli. In 1979, fishing boats were estimated at 325, 13 being

commercial trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets that ...

s; the rest small and medium-sized boats. There were approximately 1,000-1,200 professional fishermen by 1981. The government has encouraged fishing and attempted to stimulate demand. In 1986 a fishing port was constructed at

Zuwara Zuwarah, Zuwara, or Zwara ( ); () is a coastal city in north-western Libya. Zuwara is primarily inhabited by indigenous Berber people of Libya. The local Berber dialect, known locally as Zuwari, is commonly spoken as a first language by the inh ...

, and ice plants were built at several coastal sites. Agreements for joint fishing development were signed with several countries, including

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Sponge Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and a ...

fishing was monopolized by

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

fishers. A tiny percentage of the harvest was obtained by Libyans using small boats and skin-diving equipment from shallow waters inshore. In 1977, the government established freshwater fish farms in several inshore locations. In 1997, the low annual catch of 34,500 mt demonstrates Libya’s still underdeveloped fisheries. Low investments in fishing boats, ports, and processing facilities are major obstacles to growth. The country has one major fishing port (

Zliten Zliten () is a city in Murqub District of Libya. It is located 160 km to the capital of Tripoli. Geography The name Zliten is given to both the city and the whole area. As a city, Zliten is situated east of the capital, Tripoli, and abo ...

), one

tuna A tuna (: tunas or tuna) is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bul ...

plant and two

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

factories with small processing capacities (1,000 metric tons per year each). Libya is planning to build 24 fishing ports in addition to one under construction at Marsa Zuaga. With a primary and secondary productive employment base of around 12,000 persons by 2006, the national fisheries sector provides a small fraction - around 1% - of the total labor force. Its estimated contribution to Agricultural GDP is negligible, standing at around 10%.

Forestry

Libya lacks forests for commercial purposes. Although the government designated over 624 km² as

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

or forest, this land is covered in scrub and minor vegetation. During the 1960s the government began an

afforestation Afforestation is the establishment of a forest or stand of trees in an area where there was no recent tree cover. There are three types of afforestation: natural Regeneration (biology), regeneration, agroforestry and Tree plantation, tree plan ...

program. An estimated 213 million seedlings were planted by 1977, 33 million being fruit trees. Most reforestation occurred in western Libya. During reforestation, scientists experimented with a

petrochemical Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable s ...

spray that is sufficiently

porous Porosity or void fraction is a measure of the void (i.e. "empty") spaces in a material, and is a fraction of the volume of voids over the total volume, between 0 and 1, or as a percentage between 0% and 100%. Strictly speaking, some tests measure ...

to allow rain to seep through, yet sturdy enough to prevent seedlings from being blown away during

sandstorms A dust storm, also called a sandstorm, is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions. Dust storms arise when a gust front or other strong wind blows loose sand and dirt from a dry surface. Fine particles are transport ...

. Planting program goals included growing enough trees to meet domestic

lumber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

needs,

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, Soil acidification, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination Slash-and-b ...

and reclamation, and

windbreak A windbreak (shelterbelt) is a planting usually made up of one or more rows of trees or shrubs planted in such a manner as to provide shelter from the wind and to protect soil from erosion. They are commonly planted in hedgerows around the ed ...

s for crops and settlements.The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook

Statistics

*Area: **''total'': 1,759,540 km². **''land'': 1,759,540 km². **''water'': 0 km² *Coastline: 1,770 km. *Maritime claims: **''territorial sea'': 12 nm **''note'':

Gulf of Sidra The Gulf of Sidra (), also known as the Gulf of Sirte (), is a body of water in the Mediterranean Sea on the northern coast of Libya, named after the oil port of Sidra or the city of Sirte. It was also historically known as the Great Sirte or G ...

closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north **''exclusive fishing zone'': *Climate: Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior. *Elevation extremes: **''lowest point'': Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m **''highest point'':

Bikku Bitti Bikku Bitti, also known as Bette Peak, is the highest mountain in Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya borde ...

2,266 m *Land use: **''arable land'': 1.03%. **''permanent crops'': 0.19%. **''other'': 98.78% (2005). *Irrigated land: 4,700 km² (2003). *Geography: more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert. *Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle.

References

References *GSPLA. 1989. ''Agriculture achievements in 20 years''. Secretariat of Agriculture Land Reclamation and Animal Wealth . *GSPLA. 1970. ''Agriculture in Libya''. Facts and Figure. *Mohamed Al Genedal. 1978. ''Agriculture in Libya''. Arab Book Publishers. *Ali Rahuma. 1993. ''Cost of barley and wheat production in some state managed agricultural projects''. J. Agric. Res. (In press). *''Future of food economics in the Arab State''. Vol. 4. Statistics. 1979. *''Statistical index 1970''. Ministry of Economic and Planning. *Sassi Haraga et al. 1993. ''Wheat and barley: Facts and Figures, 1968-1991''. Agric. Res. Centre.

External links

Libyan Agriculture
{{Africa topic, Agriculture in Environment of Libya

History of agricultural development

Libyan Soils

Agriculture since 1962

Production

Land use and irrigation

Libyan Soils

Fishing

Forestry

Statistics

See also

References

External links