The World Food Programme and Tatweer Research, a Libyan research and development company based in Benghazi, presented a summary of their “Fezzan Agricultural Assessment” during an event in Tripoli Sunday.
Implemented in 2023 in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock with funds from Germany and Italy, the assessment aims at “defining the profiles of farmers and productive units in the Fezzan region,” according to the WFP.
“The Assessment provides a series of pathways paving the way to resilient and adaptive agricultural development for the Fezzan region,” it added.
A significant gender disparity in farm ownership was among the key findings of the assessment. According to the study findings, the vast majority of surveyed farm owners in the Fezzan region were men (99 percent), with women accounting for just 1 percent.
Most farmers surveyed in the Fezzan region (68 percent) indicated being concurrently employed in regular public sector jobs in addition to their farming work.
73 percent of the surveyed farms are held through individual ownership, with the remaining 27 percent via co-ownership, usufruct, inheritance, or leasehold arrangements.
While 57 percent of the surveyed farmers said they were the primary breadwinners solely responsible for generating income, primarily through agricultural activities, 43 percent indicated that, within their households, multiple individuals contribute to the households’ income with females comprising 36 percent of them, highlighting the diverse and shared economic roles within these agricultural households.
Additionally, 79 percent of these individuals, who bring non-agricultural economic contributions, earn their income through public sector employment, with the remaining relying on income from the private sector or pensions.
Perennial power cuts ranked at the top of the challenges facing farmers in Libya as most farms surveyed (93 percent) depend on the public electricity grid.
Fuel shortages, transport and logistical difficulties, the lack of marketing and storage capabilities, instability of produce prices were also reported among many challenges faced by the farmers.
In light of these findings, the assessment called for more support to farmers through policies that promote access to market, advocacy for female access to equal employment opportunities, adoption of digital technology and alternative energy.
The assessment comes on the backdrop of a project to improve food systems in the cities of Kufra and Rubyana in 2022.
“Although the project was a success, it became evident to both partners that, to create people-centered interventions and to orient better targeting, there was a need to generate sound evidence assessing the needs of farmers and portraying the agricultural political economy of Libya,” the WFP said.