The United Nations food agency and Libya today signed an agreement to collaborate in a joint programme that seeks to increase food production while protecting the country's natural resources.

"This agreement includes a number of strategic projects aimed at supporting the new Libya in responding to its development goals and priorities," the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Graziano da Silva, said in a news release.

Under the agreement, Libya will provide $71 million in funding needed to develop different areas, such as plant and animal health and production, pesticide management, seed development, natural resource management, capacity building and institutional strengthening.

The projects will also aim to preserve natural resources such as water, and will benefit farmers, herders and fishers as well as their organizations and cooperatives and traders.

"The projects will significantly enhance the capacity of the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Wealth and Marine Resources to implement all the proposed activities under the agreement. Ministry staff will receive both short- and long-term technical training," FAO said in the news release.