Libya’s wheat production for the current year stands at 90,000 tons, significantly lower than the country’s annual requirement of 1.6 million tons for local consumption. This was announced by Ahmed Al-Senussi, Director of Planning at the General Grain Authority.
He noted that only 10% of this production is soft wheat, with the remainder being hard wheat.
Al-Senussi pointed out several issues impacting grain production, particularly barley. The 2024 harvest season saw very low yields due to the neglect of farmers and inadequate support.
Many farmers have abandoned wheat cultivation because of weak incentives and the fact that their last year’s harvest remains unsold. Milling companies prefer importing wheat over purchasing locally produced grain.
Ahmed Bouhalala, the President of the Farmers’ Union, attributed the decline in grain production to the political division since 2015 and the lack of support for farmers.
He highlighted that production in eastern Libya suffered from the floods in Derna, which damaged agricultural lands.
Currently, wheat production is limited to the southern regions and some coastal cities.
Bouhalala emphasized that Libya’s annual wheat requirement to meet local consumption is 1.6 million tons.
The country relies heavily on oil revenues to finance its food imports, underlining the critical need for a stable agricultural policy and better support for local farmers to reduce dependency on imports.
