Addressing acute food insecurity in rural areas in Somalia

Coastal communities in the north of Somalia experienced drought since 2015 followed by Cyclone Sagar in May 2018, which caused significant damage and losses to both the fisheries and livestock sectors. These pastoral-fishing livelihood zones experienced a high depletion of livestock assets, and destitute pastoralists are in dire need of alternative food and income sources.

These include both inland pastoralists who have migrated to the coast, as well as part-time fishing households now forced to become full-time fishers. There was a need, and a key opportunity, to equip destitute households with the basic means to exploit abundant marine resources that can improve income, food security and nutrition in affected communities in the immediate and longer terms. There was also demand and scope to scale up fish-processing activities, which primarily engage women IDPs in producing dried fish.

This long shelf-life product is being consumed increasingly, promoted through nutrition and consumption campaigns in coastal and inland areas. While all of these activities have been implemented successfully in recent years, FAO also tailored and integrated them under a new Cash+ Coastal Fisheries pilot programme in 2019.