Tripoli, 21 May:
The Libyan government and the UN’s Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization are to collaborate in developing Libya’s agricultural sector . . .[restrict]and improve food security.
Under an agreement signed on Friday, Libya will provide $71-million in funding to develop different areas, such as plant and animal health and production, pesticide management, seed development, natural resource management, capacity building and institutional strengthening.
The agreement was signed in Rome by the Minister for Agriculture, Animal Wealth and Marine Resources, Sulaiman Abdelhamid Boukharouba and FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva.
“This agreement includes a number of strategic projects aimed at supporting the new Libya in responding to its development goals and priorities,” said Graziano da Silva.
Projects under the agreement will aim to increase food production and improve productivity while preserving natural resources such as water, all with the goal of improving food security in the country.
Beneficiaries will include farmers, herders and fishers as well as their organisations and cooperatives and traders.
The projects will significantly enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Wealth and Marine Resources to implement all the proposed activities under the agreement. Ministry staff will receive both short- and long-term technical training. [/restrict]