Some Economic Aspects of the Olive Crop in Libya

Fruit crops in Libya, including olive, are distinguished by their importance as a source of income for Libyan farmers. Most of them are cash crops with high returns compared to other crops on the farm. Olives are considered one of the main crops in Libya because they contain beneficial nutrients for the body, such as fats and vitamins, and their fruits are eaten fresh after pickling them. Or they are pressed to extract nutrient-rich olive oil. The average production of the olive crop reached about 132.4 thousand tons during the average period (2000-2004), increasing to about 173.7 thousand tons during the period (2017-2021), with an increase of about 31.2% compared to the first period.
 Despite the increase in total olive production during the previous two periods, productivity per hectare decreased from about 1.28 tons per hectare on average for the period (2000-2004) to about 0.61 tons per hectare on average for the period (2017-2021), with a decrease rate of about 52.3% compared to the first period. So, the interest was studying the factors that led to the fluctuation of hectare productivity from year to other in the study area in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar, despite the increase in the area allocated for olive cultivation across Libya, which required studying the production and marketing problems of the olive crop from the point of view of the respondents and the proposed solutions to those problems. .
This research mainly aimed to study some of the economic aspects of the olive crop in Libya through economic analysis of the food gap and Libyan food security from olives through studying several sub-objectives, which were: Estimating general temporal trend models for some economic indicators of olives in Libya during the period (2000-2021), studying the most important indicators of Libyan food security for olives, estimating the size of the olive food gap and knowing the most important factors responsible for it, and studying the production and marketing problems facing olive farmers and the solutions proposed from their point of view, through a questionnaire designed for this purpose for a simple random sample of olive farmers  in Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar region in Libya during the year 2022.This research depends on both descriptive and quantitative analysis methods, represented in estimating some trend models for the economic variables under investigation in their linear and semi-logarithmic form in the dependent variable to calculate annual growth rates for those variables. The multiple regression analysis method was also used to find out the most important factors responsible for the size of the olive gap, and some economic indicators were used to measure the impact of factors affecting the Libyan food security factor from olives.The research depends on published secondary data issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and primary data from a simple random sample of some olive producers in Al Jabal Akhdar region prepared for the purpose of the study. Some research, scientific theses, and some foreign references related to the research topic were also used, in addition to using the international Internet to obtain information related to the research.It was shown from the results obtained that some of the research variables took a general, statistically significant, upward trend at the usual probability levels of significance (0.05, 0.01), such as national consumption of olives and daily local consumption, and some of them took a general, statistically significant, decreasing trend, such as individual consumption of olives, as well as statistical significance was not found for the variables of local olive production, self-sufficiency rate, and daily consumption coverage period at any of the usual levels of significance, while annual growth rates differed, as is evident from the research.In light of the results revealed by the research, it recommends the following:1- Agricultural methods and crop service operations should be improved, and global experiences in this field should be utilized to raise the productivity levels of fruit-bearing olive trees, vertically expand production levels, and work to provide the necessary facilities to provide refrigerated warehouses near production places to preserve it and reduce the flow of production to markets during the season.2 - The responsible authorities must develop an appropriate marketing mechanism to benefit from the added value of olives.3- Guiding producers to pay attention to olive production processes so that productivity per hectare can be increased.4 - Encouraging farmers and urging them to pay attention to marketing services such as sorting, grading and packing, which work to improve the specifications of the final product so that the olive crop can be marketed at the best prices.5- Increasing investments directed to industrialization by directing part of the appropriations allocated for import operations to increasing the quality of agricultural production.6- The need to pay attention to performing agricultural operations on time in order to increase the productivity of the hectare.7- The need to intensify the efforts of agricultural extension and agricultural research centers, in cooperation with factory engineers, agricultural departments, and agricultural supervisors, to educate farmers about the importance of resisting pests and diseases that affect the crop, and to help them obtain the necessary pesticides that are not harmful to the environment.8- Raising the productive efficiency of the olive crop by disseminating high-yielding varieties that are suitable for each administrative center in Libya.