Impact

Farmers’ livelihoods decimated by Somalia’s recent droughts

Approximately half of all households in Somalia are headed by women, and women are disproportionately suffering from the country’s compounding challenges of climate change, conflict and food shortages.

Agriculture and livestock provide a livelihood for vast numbers of Somalis, including many women. Yet for many pastoralists (sheep and cattle farmers) the recent failed rainy seasons have decimated their sole source of income.

Ibada, a 54-year-old mother of 7 children, lives in the Sharaf-weyn village of Awdal region in western Somaliland. Ibada had been responsible for 100 goats, enabling her to earn a secure living, but Somalia’s prolonged drought meant she became unable to feed or provide water for her goats.

Ibada watched helplessly in distress as, 1 by 1, her goats died. Without them, she had no means to provide for her family.

Increasing resilience through climate-smart agriculture

Islamic Relief’s Strengthening Agricultural Resilience (SARIA) project aims to increase resilience among livestock farmers. The project is designed to address the challenges of recurring drought and food insecurity in Somalia by supplying farmers with productive livestock and implementing climate-smart agriculture techniques to better protect them against the impacts of climate change.

SARIA has supported over 5,500 of the most vulnerable women in the region to not only regain but sustain their livelihood. The project provided solar-powered tractors and productive livestock (9 healthy goats and 1 healthy Billy goat) to 150 households that previously earned a living from livestock but had been overwhelmed by the drought and had no alternative source of income.

The livestock farmers were supported to produce crops that they could better protect against the effects of drought, as well as being trained in other farming techniques that enable them to more effectively manage the new herds.

‘Now I can manage again and provide for my kids’

Without help to re-establish her livelihood as a livestock farmer, Ibada would have no means of providing for her family, nor would it help Somalia’s economy recover from the multiple shocks it has suffered in recent years. Now, with a healthy set of goats, Ibada is able to provide for her children and intends to expand her livelihood in the coming years.

“I was highly in need of getting these goats for my family, and now I can better manage and [have] milk for my kids,” Ibada says.

Ibada is just one of many livestock farmers in Somalia that possesses the skills and knowledge to earn a living from agriculture. Empowered with the right techniques and equipment, women like Ibada can lead the way in strengthening the country’s economy.

With your help, we can support thousands more like Ibada to become self-sufficient once again. Donate now.

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