The effects of climate change are being felt all over Somalia, including one of its traditionally most fertile areas, South West state, where farmers grow fruit, vegetables and grains.
Most of the farmers are women, many of whom own the land they farm on. They grow tomatoes, onions, bananas, mangoes, lemons, sesame, peanuts, maize and other crops.
The last few years have been terrible, with agricultural production sinking to low levels during the coronavirus pandemic and failing to improve since then. This is largely due to the drought and increased prices caused by war in Europe, including those of fuel.
Mahmoud Ibrahim Abdi teaches Agricultural Science at the University of Southern Somalia in Baidoa. He says farmers are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change because they depend on the weather for their survival.
“One of the problems is that there are no facilities to store rainwater,” he says. “Rains are unpredictable if they come at all, so farmers can no longer depend on what used to be more regular weather cycles.”
Shucaro Aden Issaq, who farms land near Baidoa, is one of those suffering from the lack of water storage facilities.
“When the rains do come, we have no place to store the water. Rivers run dry and we have nothing to water our crops,” she says.
“Another problem is that fuel is so expensive now that we can’t afford to buy it. This means we cannot use our pumps which bring water from the river to our farms.”
Fruit and vegetable markets used to thrive in Baidoa. Now they are nearly empty, both of produce and customers.
“The price of agricultural produce is so high that people can no longer afford to come to market to buy them,” says businessman Bilow Adan Gaabow. “Farmers don’t dare plant seeds because they fear the rains will fail once again.”
The government says it is doing what it can to help people suffering from the impact of drought and climate change. It has appointed a special drought envoy and is setting up a disaster management agency, but this is not enough to help the struggling farmers of the South West.
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