Introduction
The agricultural sector has historically been, and continues to be, the backbone of the Somali
economy. Livestock and crops remain the main sources of economic activity, employment,
and exports in Somalia1. It has a crucial role to play in Somalia’s renewed pursuit to achieve
peace and political stability through food security, job creation, and, eventually, sustainable
economic growth. An estimated 70% of the country’s population, or more than 8.5 million
people, live in rural areas and derive their livelihoods from agricultural related activities.
Therefore, development of the agricultural sector is central to any future interventions aimed
at addressing the food and nutrition insecurity in Somalia, as well as tackling the widespread
poverty, which is the prime driver for the resource-based social conflicts and the ensuing
political instability throughout the country.
However, the sector’s productivity is currently very low due to several interlinked factors,
including conflict and insecurity in the main agricultural regions, frequent droughts which
have resulted in displacement of a large proportion of the rural population to urban centres,
poor irrigation and rural infrastructure, and limited adoption of modern agricultural practices
such as the use of mechanisation, high quality seeds of superior varieties, fertilizers, and
pesticides. The impact of all these constraints is exasperated by the poor infrastructure and
lack of institutional capacity in the current post-conflict situation of Somalia.