Background

Human suffering in Somalia has soared despite the progress of recovery efforts and the fortitude of conflict- and climate-affected populations throughout the country. Escalated violence in Mogadishu, drought and flooding in 2007 exacerbated Somalia’s already chronic humanitarian emergency.

Some 1.5 million people require urgent assistance, constituting a 50 percent increase in needs since the beginning of 2007. The ongoing fighting is the worst the country has endured since civil conflict in the early 1990s, has generated 450 00 IDPs and made it much more difficult for humanitarian and other potential providers of assistance to reach populations in need.

The lack of central governance for over 16 years has fuelled chronic vulnerability and malnutrition levels, leaving the country without recourse to basic social services. Population movements have placed additional strain on already dwindling resources and depleted coping strategies. The majority of the 850 000 new and protracted IDPs are women and children, increasingly at risk of sexual- and gender-based violence, HIV/AIDS exposure, exploitation and other injustices. Increasing access to food, means of production and livelihood options will be critical to strengthening self-reliance among vulnerable populations and their capacity to recover from past, present and future shocks.

Challenges facing food security and livelihoods

Underlying poverty and malnutrition in Somalia are compounded by recurrent weather hazards, civil unrest and population movements. While the livelihoods of 80 percent of the population directly depend on agriculture and livestock, rural households are able to produce only 20 to 60 percent of their food requirements. Somalia, a cereal deficit country, relies heavily on commercial or food-aid imports. Increased household production and purchasing power are thus crucial to restoring food security levels in the country.

Regions most at risk include Lower and Middle Shabelle, Hiran, Mudug and Galgadud. Drought-induced crop failure in southern Somalia, where 90 percent of cereal is produced, yielded its lowest production in over 13 years, while Gedo, Bakool and Bay regions experienced total crop failure. Riverine flooding inundated the underground storage of cereal reserves in some areas and triggered livestock disease outbreaks and a rise in animal mortality.

Urgent efforts are needed to reduce crop failure and livestock disease and death, which result in export bans, internal market disruption and increased prices for local agricultural and livestock products. These factors impede sustainable access to food at all levels, depleting the capacity of vulnerable populations to fight hunger.

FAO response

FAO is seeking US$18 401 500 for emergency and rehabilitation assistance in Somalia in 2008. FAO aims to continue empowering households to resume agricultural and livestock production while addressing the root causes of vulnerability. With donor support, FAO seeks to provide agricultural tools and high-yielding seed varieties based on region-specific needs, reinforced by on-farm training in improved farming practices, crop storage and pest management.

Proposed interventions to enhance pastoral livelihoods include animal redistribution and destocking activities, capacity building of animal health workers at the professional and community levels, coupled with veterinary input provision, strengthening livestock disease surveillance and promoting health and hygiene in the sector. Also included are support to fisheries-based livelihoods through the development of small-scale fish landing and marketing facilities and fostering the organization of fishers’ and traders’ associations. To counteract preventable flooding, which spurs disease outbreaks and crop failure, FAO aims to improve public infrastructure, including water points, river embankments and canals.

As the lead agency in food security and livelihoods, FAO will continue to strengthen coordination among actors in the sector through improved information sharing, consensus building on response options, beneficiary selection and monitoring and evaluation, with focus on mainstreaming HIV/AIDS and gender issues in emergency programming. FAO’s proposed activities will dedicate special focus on women and children.

Some of the activities proposed are in support of the United Nations Transitional Plan (UNTP), which sets out the strategy of the UN in Somalia throughout 2008-2009. The focus of the UNTP is to support the transition from conflict to peace and from crisis to recovery and longer-term development and to reaffirm the commitment of UN agencies to jointly assist the Somali people.