Communication 12: The Role of Agricultural Banks and Sustainable Agricultural Development: Evidence from a Farming Community in Libya

Farmers and rural communities in developing countries encounter a broad range of challenges, including poverty, hunger, poor health and well-being, and climate change. In relation to sustainable agricultural development, farmers need to apply appropriate farming techniques and agricultural technologies that require a high level of investments. In Libya, the Agricultural Bank was founded to promote agricultural development that is both sustainable and improves the living standard of rural communities and farmers’ welfare. The present study is focused on the role of the Agricultural Bank in the Jafara region to the South-west of Tripoli City in addressing the challenges of poverty, hunger, poor health and well-being, and climate change or not. Based on a mixed method approach, including 83 surveys and 26 interviews with farmers in the region, the study reveals that the Agricultural Bank has inadequate financial resources to improve the infrastructure, production and level of prosperity among farmers in the agricultural sector of the region. The paper concludes with some practical recommendations regarding how government and the Agricultural Bank can more effectively support sustainable agricultural development in the Jafara region and other rural area of Libya.