Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Libyan Crisis Threatens Regional Food Security Joe DeCapua March 11, 2011 Migrant workers who used to work in Libya and fled the recent unrest in the country, are seen in a refugee camp at the Tunisia-Libyan border, in Ras Ajdir, Tunisia, March 9, 2011,. (AP Image) The crisis in Libya could put food security at risk, not only in Libya, but in neighboring countries as well. Daniele Donati, chief of the Emergency Operations Service for the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, says, âThey employ a lot of workers from neighboring countries. And these people, they are now fleeing the country and they are back in their own countries of origin, mainly Egypt, Tunisia, to some extent also Niger and Algeria.â Donati says itâs important to remember that the regional political turmoil now underway is due in part to what he calls âsoaring food prices.â He warns, âThis kind of social instability is not completely over. And itâs normally considered a symptom of a sort of a malaise, to use a French word. Something like social fever, if you see what I mean.â Migrant workers Migrant workers in Libya have played a large role in the countryâs food production. âThe largest proportion of the agricultural workers in Libya [were] all from Egypt. Traditionally, the Libyan people, rural people, are pastoralists, rather than agriculturalists. They are more concentrated on livestock than crops. So the field workers are all from the neighbor countries and they left in large part,â he says. The FAO is unable to make a full assessment of the situation in Libya because it lacks access to all parts of the country. Donati says, âWe need to assess a number of key variables. But the presence of theseâ¦agricultural workers is extremely important to assess the capacity of the country to produce that part of the food budget thatâs normally domestically produced.â Imports The U.N. agency says the region heavily depends on cereal imports. âThe different coastal countries in the Maghreb affected by this crisis, namely Libya, Egypt and Tunisia, theyâre all characterized by a very heavy dependency [on] food imports, which doesnât mean that agriculture is not important in their country. It means agriculture in these countries is limited in terms of volume, but itâs key and strategic to feed people,â he says. Donati estimates Libyaâs dependence on imports to be as high as 80 percent. âThey import inflation. If you have high food prices on international markets and your agricultural sector requires an integration of 80 percent to cover the consumption needs in the country, you systematically import inflation, increasing prices. The price of maize on the international markets in the recent months has increased between 75 and 85 percent,â he says. He adds that people, who depend on maize flour, have a âserious problem.â The FAO says it plans to distribute vegetable seeds along with food aid in Libya in areas around cities and coasts. The goal is to âboost consumption of fresh food and micronutrient intake.â .