Public Policies and Agricultural Development in Libya (Multiple Development Plans and Changing Political Systems)

Abstract

This paper examines a group of development plans that were developed in previous periods in Libya, and aims to alert the decision-maker in the Libyan political system that achieving agricultural development that increases the gross domestic product, reduces dependence on oil, and contributes to meeting local needs for agricultural products, comes through following public policies that take into account the importance of agriculture and its role in diversifying the national economy.Through this, the study reached a number of conclusions, including:

Agricultural production was a cornerstone of Libya's national economy before the discovery of oil, and the majority of Libyans depended on it, both individually and as a nation. Despite limited natural resources, the development and transformation plans implemented at the beginning of the Libyan state's establishment succeeded in fostering growth. The change in the political system also negatively affected the continuation of development plans at the pace initiated by the monarchy, due to the lack of clarity in the organizational structure of the new political system, and also the lack of a clear ideology to be implemented.

Through development plans. Finally, a relationship can be observed between economic development plans and oil; it is a direct, positive relationship, meaning that the more Libya's oil revenue increases and its prices stabilize, the more this contributes to financing development plans. Accordingly, the researcher recommends that there be specialized centers to assist the political decision-maker in the task of developing development plans in Libya. The researcher also recommends that the decision-maker in the Libyan state should take into account that the oil resource is exhaustible and therefore it is necessary to diversify the sources of national income. The researcher also recommends that specialists interested in development policies continue the research from where the researcher left off with the last five-year development plan in 1986.