Agricultural development in Somalia—an important commercial centre in antiquity that in 1991 became stateless and suffered more than two decades of conflict and, more recently, devastating drought—is BACK.
With livestock and cropping the backbone of the country, leaders from 11 of the 15 CGIAR centres discussed with Somali officials last month at ICRAF ways that CGIAR agricultural research could help accelerate and enhance Somalia’s development.
The topics covered were as diverse as CGIAR and included everything from banana, rice, camel milk and meat production and value chains; to new sorghum varieties that feed both people (grain) and livestock (through the stalks and leaves of the sorghum plants); to climate-smart cassava, cowpea, millet, sesame, sorghum, Irish potatoes and orange-fleshed sweetpotatoes; to farmer-led seed production initiatives; to index-based insurance schemes protecting farmers against drought-related livestock and crop losses; to agroforestry (‘Regreening Africa’) and other land restoration initiatives.
- Mohamed Muse Adan, director of crop production and extension in Somalia’s ministry of agriculture
- Mohamed Shirdon, a seed-system expert in Somalia’s ministry of agriculture
- Mohamed Abdinoor, chief of party of the USAID-supported GEEL program (Growth, Enterprise, Employment and Livelihoods) in Somalia
- USAID consultant Said Ali
Hooked up by video link were:
- Somalia’s Federal Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Honourable Said Hussein Lid
- Ministry staff
Representatives of four donor agencies attended:
- European Union (EU)
- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
- Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
- United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Leaders of 9 CGIAR centres attended:
- Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR)
- International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)
- International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)
- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)
- International Potato Center (CIP)
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
- World Agroforestry (ICRAF)
