Mounting damage threatens Wadi Etba’s palms
LIBYA – Palm farmer Hassan Mukhtar has warned of declining date production in Wadi Etba as a result of the spread of crop pests and the October rains, saying that what remains of this year’s harvest has in many cases become unfit for human consumption and is good only as animal feed.
Scale insects, spider mites and October rains
In comments to Libya Al-Ahrar TV, which broadcasts from Turkey — followed and summarised by Al-Marsad — Mukhtar said the palms had been damaged in previous years by the green scale insect and spider mites, and that losses had worsened this year because of the rain in October, which ruined the remaining crops.
Support halted and no treatments for pests
He said farmers had approached the municipality’s agriculture office and had set up an association in previous years to combat the scale insect, but the help had been limited to small quantities of pesticides and then stopped.
He added that the agriculture office had distributed pesticides against the green scale insect about three years ago, while no treatments are available for spider mites and the palm weevil, which, in his words, is causing production and quality to keep falling year after year.
Impact on date prices and livelihoods in Fezzan
He noted that Wadi Etba and other parts of Fezzan rely heavily on palm and date farming, and warned of the effect of reduced supply on the prices of dates and date by-products, explaining that prices tend to rise as production falls, and vice versa.
He appealed to the relevant authorities to intervene urgently and provide direct support to farmers to limit losses and protect crops.
