Return of IFAD gives Somalia hope

We will become food secure again, says President Muhamud

Kampala, Uganda | RONALD MUSOKE | Somalia might be on the brink of famine following five consecutive failed rainy seasons but President Hassan Sheikh Muhamud recently told the annual Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) meeting in Rome that his government is determined to build a strong innovative agriculture base to address his country’s food insecurity situation.

This year’s meeting, the 46th session, took place Feb.14-15 in Rome under the theme, “Accelerating Action for Food Security.”

“Somalia is a rich country in terms of arable land and marine resources which would make our country a food basket and not food insecure,” President Muhamud told the attentive Governing Council. “We are taking food security very seriously. I have stated many times that food security is a fundamental part of national security for my government,” he said.

“All our major policy priorities today, whether it is security, economic reform and recovery, and basic public service delivery and job creation can all be achieved through agricultural reforms and investment that we are pursuing. Ambition is a good start point; to accelerate action, must follow quickly to capitalize on natural and global momentum.”

Somalia’s food security situation has been made worse by an unprecedented five successive failed rainy seasons. This has led to starvation in many parts of the country. Over half of Somalia’s population is currently food insecure including the most vulnerable—the women and children. Many rural communities have also lost their livelihoods, food prices increased and drought-induced humanitarian crisis worsened.

Ismail Hussein, a field monitor based in Baidoa told humanitarian agency, Islamic Relief, last December that he had never witnessed anything in his life. “Many babies and young children are dying of malnutrition and measles. If this lack of rain continues, we expect many more deaths,” he said.

According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification analysis prepared by the UN’s World Food Programme, many parts of Somalia are extremely food insecure. Over five million Somalis are currently experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity, including 214,000 people considered to be in a catastrophe situation due to an unprecedented drought, not seen in decades.

Projections show that as many as 8.3 million Somalis could face high levels of acute food insecurity between April and June 2023. The 2023 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan aims to assist 7.6 million people across Somalia this year. This includes preventing loss of life of approximately 6.7 million of the most vulnerable people.

Food insecurity prolonging conflict

President Muhamud told the meeting in Rome that lack of food, hunger and deterioration of the conditions to make agriculture like it was in the past had played a major role in the prolonged conflict in Somalia.

“It has also spurred on international terrorist group Al Shabab to create spaces for which they control, radicalize and subjugate parts of our rural population, particularly the young people,” he said, “The old saying that ‘a hungry person is an angry person’ is correct.”

Muhamud said his government is now responding fiercely with successful military offensive liberating most of these territories from Al Shabab.

“While we still need emergency humanitarian assistance to avert the worst of the drought and hunger today, I strongly believe that in Somalia we can be food secure in the future.” He said much of the newly liberated territories include much agricultural land which needs investment and he is hopeful this will happen soon.

“Somalia has abundant land and agricultural opportunity within our own territory and with a young population and a history of agricultural production with almost 65% of our economy at present.”

“With real opportunity to make food security a genuine reality on the ground, food policy as an overarching policy goal compliments our government’s wider vision of a strong united and progressive Somalia at peace with itself and with the rest of the world.

“Our focus is on supporting smallholder farmers, pastoralists to revive the land and turn them into thriving businesses which provide food security for the wider rural communities and Somali nation while producing enough to both consume locally and sell to the international markets to turn profit.”

He added that Somalia’s vibrant private sector and growing financial institutions are also supportive of agricultural investments to modernize the sector and many have started working directly with farmers; especially women and young men, to reinject hope and opportunity into agriculture.

Climate change

President Muhamud said climate change is a real challenge in Somalia and mitigation and adaptation measures, including better water resources management, flood management systems and soil erosion management, must be put in place to help overcome the recurrent climate-induced crises and shocks.

As part of the government’s response, he noted that his government has, for the first time, created the Ministry Environment to lead in this key area. “This is evidence of how seriously we are taking the need to address this existential threat to (protect) future food systems,” he said.

Somalia’s IFAD debt cleared

Meanwhile, following the clearance of Somalia’s debt which had seen the country suspended for 30 years from IFAD activities, Alvaro Lario, the president of IFAD, announced during the Governing Council that the agency would resume its direct investments in the country.

Belgium, Germany, Italy and Sweden supported Somalia in clearing its arrears to IFAD. Since 1991 when the civil war started in Somalia, the arrears had prevented Somalia from benefiting from IFAD’s highly concessional loans and grants.

Jochen Flasbarth, the State Secretary, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany said Germany’s clearing of Somalia’s outstanding debts with IFAD would allow the Fund to resume its important role in supporting rural development and sustainable climate-resilient agriculture in Somalia.

He said Germany had taken this rather unusual bilateral step in order to boost Somalia’s efforts to withstand economic and climatic shocks and to strengthen institutions and ownership in times of crisis so as to leverage further financing for climate-resilient agriculture.

“Belgium is honoured to be one of the first countries to have contributed to clear Somalia’s debt to IFAD, enabling the country to benefit from IFAD funding to help small-scale farmers adapt to climate changes and tackle land degradation,” added Ambassador Pierre-Emanuel De Bauw, Belgium’s Governor to IFAD.

“The climate crisis has severe consequences on agriculture and food production in the world’s poorest countries. It is urgent that we strengthen the resilience of rural populations in these countries.”

During the meeting, Lario announced that IFAD is immediately making US$11.6 million available to the Horn of Africa nation and mobilizing resources for a new US$50 million agricultural development project. This project is intended to provide seeds, irrigation, farming and veterinary services, small microfinance loans, training in climate smart and adaptation technics to improve crop and livestock production across the country.

“We must help small-scale farmers and pastoralists adapt to climate change and build their resilience so that they can cope with future shocks,” said Lario. “They need funding and training.”

However, even though IFAD cannot invest in countries that are in arrears with the Fund, Lario said IFAD has been actively mobilizing grants from donors to Somalia and channeling resources for rural development projects in the country. In fact, since the early 1990s, IFAD has channeled about US$40 million to Somalia with two ongoing projects.

Among the beneficiaries of such funding is a project in Puntland which has been helping pastoralists and agro-pastoralists to rehabilitate irrigation systems, improve livestock health, use drip irrigation, restore degraded rangelands and use solar energy.

IFAD has also been providing support to Somalia under its Crisis Relief Initiative to help the country withstand the impacts of the war in Ukraine by responding to urgent needs for seeds, fertilizers, goats and sheep, irrigation and renewable energies, and rehabilitation of water sources, thus protecting the livelihoods of about 72, 000 people.

Going forward, President Muhamud said Somalia encourages its bilateral and multilateral partners including IFAD to support his government to revive the country’s agriculture for food security, peace, jobs and prosperity.

“This is very important at a critical time of our country and will most certainly contribute accelerating food security in Somalia,” he said. The President emphasized the importance of IFAD’s renewed commitment:

“This re-engagement is an opportunity for a new dawn for Somalia to address many food security priorities in the country,” he said, “The re-engagement of IFAD is the beginning of the process of transition from humanitarian (assistance) to development and it helps a lot – it is opening doors, and other organisations will follow suit.”

“The reasons for our optimism are many but at the forefront is that we are progressing steadily through our debt relief programme and hope to reach the completion point of the World Bank/IMF Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative by the end of this year.

“We hope that this will unleash a great number of national and international potential resources to invest in our food security and this will help our government to accelerate the push for real tangible investments alongside all our partners including our friends, IFAD.”