“I’m a farmer, and I will still work here”
Meanwhile, local pastoralist Ali Mohamed Wasuge has decided to stay in his village of Sariirale in central Somalia near the border of Ethiopia, though he says he has never seen the land this dry before. The earth, the trees, the bushes - all different variations of brown.
“The fields are dry and without water everything we planted last season has been wiped out by the drought. Our livestock are starving,” he said.
With nothing to eat, Ali’s weakened animals cannot fight off simple colds and infections and are now dying en-masse. He is watching his livelihood disappear before his eyes.
Despite the challenges, Ali has chosen to stay in his home with his family.
“I have seven children and live here with my wife. I’m a farmer, and I will still work here,” he said.
He knows the risks involved in abandoning their farm and livelihoods, but leaving is something he thinks about every day.
FAO is working to give people options. As of March 2022, Ali’s family, along with 1 874 other families in the district, had received cash transfers and livelihood assistance through FAO’s Cash+ project. Ali has so far received direct cash assistance, as well as seeds and tools for planting before the next rainy season.
While only a small amount, this has enabled Ali to pay off debts and keep his family together, and the seeds will help his family bounce back faster after the drought.
Keeping families together
“What we are seeing are rural households facing destitution,” said FAO Representative, Etienne Peterschmitt. “They have exhausted their coping mechanisms and are moving to urban areas in search of assistance. This is what FAO is seeking to prevent,” he said.
FAO’s drought response plan calls for USD 131. 4 million to reach 882 000 people in 55 districts. Cash transfers and livelihood assistance helps protect rural livelihoods and prevent a larger humanitarian crisis.
Investments in livelihoods is much more efficient in the long run. For every USD 1 spent on supporting livelihoods for rural families through FAO’s programmes, USD 10 can be saved in food related assistance for a displaced family in an urban centre. And while it costs USD 40 to buy a new goat, saving a rural family’s goat from drought-related diseases costs as little as forty cents.
While the drought conditions continue to get worse, FAO is working hard to scale up its assistance to rural communities and also help farmers implement practices to be more resilient to droughts, extreme weather and climate change related impacts in the future.
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*This story is an update of one first published on 24/03/2022.