Peterson Mucheke/BORESHA Project
Consecutive poor or failed harvests and loss of agricultural income for farmers and widespread death of livestock among pastoralists is contributing to worsening food security and nutrition in Somalia. Poor and vulnerable communities are being pushed to the brink of starvation. In response, DRC Somalia collaborated with Village Development Committees and local authorities to identify and rehabilitate communal productive assets to support drought resilience in BORESHA project locations. Additionally, Livestock common interest groups (LCIGs) were trained and provided with fuel and a variety of seeds for fodder and human consumption, with the aim of enhancing community resilience and capacity to produce fodder and cash crops and link them to commercial companies.
Khalif Mohamed Sarey, aged 69, is living with his extended family in Una Village of Dollow district, Gedo region. He owns a farm that had not been cultivated for 3 rainy seasons due to the prolonged drought. He almost gave up farming as the farm was overgrown and he did not have the financial capacity to purchase seeds and fuel to make the farm productive, owing to high prices and scarcity on the market.
Khalif was among the agro-pastoral beneficiaries that DRC targeted to support with material and farm infrastructure rehabilitation to increase their production capacity. DRC visited Khalif in January 2023 and met him on his farm, where he welcomed the team with a smiling face. He happily gave thanks and appreciation: ‘‘I thank DRC for their support. I have just harvested Sudan grass once more and still I have around 2-3 orders from Belet Hawa. This was an opportunity for me to restore my livelihood and cope during the extreme stress of the drought. I now have enough sorghum and maize for my consumption as well as for selling to others in the villages for their living”.
Khalif is now getting enough income from his farm harvests to afford to support his family. He is also able to help the dependents of his older brother who is blind and living in Una Village. “I used the Cash I received from harvest to pay off debts, cover educational and medical expenses, purchase groceries and support my elder brother’s family.” Khalif is happy and motivated to continue harvesting to provide food for his loved ones and income to cover their medical and education expenses, as well as money to maintain the health of his animals: “I am also spending income from the farm to support the treatment of my livestock and provision of pasture”, added Khalif