Western Gedo in Somalia is a region with great economic potential, this has however been limited for the most part to pastoralism and subsistence farming. Bushy, poorly maintained small farms are dotted along Rivers Dawa and Juba. Farmers continue traditional practices and think of farming as merely a means of feeding the family and livestock during the dry season. The Somali adage “beertuu galay” which translates to “he entered the farm” and its implication that he is a “loser” captures well the age old aversion to farming among the locals here. But one man saw the potential of farms and maximized on it. It is individuals such as Ibrahim that EUTF funded BORESHA project’s Grant Facility will be looking for – small farmers with big ambition.
Despite the prevailing view, an enterprising Gedo farmer named Ibrahim decided to venture into “serious farming”. Ibrahim used to grow maize on his small farm until he realized that lemons had a good market. In 2006, he decided to venture into commercial farming of lemons. After four years of trial and error, he became adept at growing quality lemons and started supplying fresh lemons to the local markets of Dolow and Belet-Hawa. He expanded his operations to markets in Dollo Ado and Mandera in neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya. Other farmers were impressed with his growing business and encouraged by Ibrahim’s success they began to set aside portions of their land to grow lemons. Ibrahim became the supplier of lemon seedlings that he nurtured in his own nursery and became a mentor to his fellow farmers.
By 2010, Ibrahim gained popularity in the community as the top lemon grower in the region. For the next four years, Ibrahim’s fresh lemon produce from his two farms and from those of his extended family dominated the local markets. Other farmers enticed by the readily available market and good profit margins followed suit. Though farmers were making good profits, the market was becoming saturated.
As the supply of fresh lemons exceeded demand, Ibrahim started to explore other options. In early 2014, he came up with the idea of extending the shelf-life of the surplus lemons by drying them up in the sun and transporting them to Mogadishu for export. He used a very simple method to do this: collect the surplus in the market and dry it up in the sun and then weigh and pack until there was a sufficient quantity to transport to Mogadishu. From there, these dried lemons were and continue to be exported to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Whether they are further exported from the UAE or used in local diets is not known.
When Ibrahim’s first couple of containers from Mogadishu to the UAE made a good profit, he shared his experience with his friends and encouraged them to expand their lemon production too. As an incentive, he offered them advance payments on expected produce. This covered their fuel costs. He also agreed to share his tractor for a small fee and set a minimum price guarantee.
As a result of Ibrahim’s initiative, more than a hundred farmers in the local area have transformed their farms from subsistence farming to economically viable enterprises. Hundreds are now employed in the dried lemon industry value chain; many of these are women. It is women who dry the lemons – spreading them out and turning them over to get even sunshine – and then do the selection for local and export markets. Dried lemon is the biggest employer and the sole export earner in the region.
Ibrahim has been successful but he still has challenges. He says “I need to protect my produce from animals and fences are expensive. Storage is a challenge and I wish I knew how to include new technologies in my business. I hope a BORESHA grant can help me “.
Ibrahim meanwhile is moving from being the trend setting farmer to becoming a buyer and exporter as more and more farmers take to lemon farming. He is aware that under EUTF funded BORESHA project’s Grant Facility, WYG will be selecting businesses for multi-purpose grants. He is eagerly awaiting the application date in order to apply with the hope of expanding his business.