Agriculture in Libya

Although agriculture is the second-largest sector in the economy, Libya depends on imports 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 Oasis rely on underground water sources. Libya's primary agricultural water source remains the Great Manmade River (GMMR), but significant resources are being invested in desalinization research to meet growing demand. Libyan agricultural projects and policies are overseen by a General Inspector; there is no Ministry of Agriculture, per se.

Historically, Libyan agriculture has had an inverse relationship to growth in the oil industry. In 1958, agriculture supplied over 26% of GDP. Although gross agricultural production was relatively constant, increasing oil revenues resulted in declines in agriculture's share of national income. 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, low productivity and limited alternatives. Petrodollars provided urban employment, resulting in higher rural migration. In 1961-63, government loans to buy land from Italian settlers, encouraged urbanites to purchase land for recreation rather than farming, thereby inflating values and reducing production.

Since 1962 agriculture has received more attention. The government bag began providing inducements for absentee landlords to encourage productive land use 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 and Kufra. In 1981, the National Libyan Agricultural Bank provided agricultural credit totaling almost 10,000 loans averaging nearly LD1,500 each. This may explain why many Libyans (nearly 20% of the labor force in 1984) remained in the agricultural sector. By 1997, about 17% of the labor force worked in agriculture.

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