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Libya: Battling conditions with organic growing

As Libya battles drought and climate change, a young farmer near Tripoli is pioneering aquaponics — a soil-free, water-efficient method that uses fish waste to grow crops. Could this closed-loop system offer a lifeline for the country's struggling agriculture sector?

In a small green oasis outside Tripoli, 24-year-old Abdallah Elfandi is defying Libya's harsh climate with an innovative approach to agriculture. His aquaponics farm, HydroHarvest, is a closed-loop system where fish and plants thrive together in water, not soil. As Libya grapples with extreme heat, prolonged droughts, and a failing irrigation infrastructure, Elfandi is proving that sustainable, water-efficient farming is not only possible, but necessary.

Libya's traditional farmers, like Mohamed Al Zawawi, face a bleak future. Once able to fill four trucks with chard and pomegranates, Al Zawawi now struggles to fill even one. With aging water networks and little government support, he is calling for investment in desalination to keep farming viable.

In stark contrast, Elfandi's aquaponics system recycles water between fish tanks and floating vegetable beds, using nutrients from tilapia waste to feed crops like lettuce, mint, and kale. His farm operates pesticide-free and produces both organic vegetables and fish with minimal resource use — an ideal model for arid regions.

Read more at DW