Children washing clothes in the waters of an irrigation canal built by the Libyan company Malibya. An area of 100,000 hectares was given by the Malian government to Malibya in an agreement made in the Gaddafi era. As a result of the Libyan revolution the future of the project is unclear. So far Malibya has constructed the canal connecting a new agricultural development to the Niger River. However, researchers say that if the project is fully realised it would cause water shortages for people living downstream on the Niger River.