Sargoon Ali, 70, has spent a lifetime attuned to the rhythms of life in the Somali countryside where survival all too often depends on access to water. In Xaaxi village of Somaliland’s Odweyne district, she rears goats and sheep that, when conditions allow, graze freely in open pastures. Unlike many pastoralists across the country, Sargoon is also a farmer. On her small plot of land, she grows cowpeas, sorghum, watermelon, and tomatoes.

 

In Sogsogley, Borama, 55-year-old Mohamed Elmi has transformed his livelihood over the past three years. A father of 11 supporting a household of 13, Elmi long relied on farming and livestock to provide for his family. For decades, he cultivated sorghum, maize, and vegetables while tending a modest herd of camels, cattle, and goats. Yet despite his hard work, making ends meet was a constant struggle.

 

FAO in Somalia recently said farewell to Senior Programme Officer and de facto Deputy Representative Ezana Kassa, who has left us after seven years to become the Representative in Uganda. Ezana’s time in the country was a defining moment in his professional life, marked by profound challenges and important milestones. We caught up with him just before he left Mogadishu to ask a few questions about his time in Somalia.

 

Faduma Macaan Cali, 72, was born near the town of Jowhar in Somalia's Hirshabelle state. Like so many other Somalis in rural parts of the country, much of her life has been determined by the availability, access or otherwise of water.

For Fadumo, International Women's Day highlights the vital contribution of women in Somalia’s economic development. The day recognises the struggle of women to balance childcare and leadership roles. “It represents recognition of the hard work and resilience of women like us who often work behind the scenes,” she said.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Somalia has welcomed a lifesaving SEK 20 million (USD 2.17 million) contribution from Sweden. The resources will be used to scale up anticipatory and early humanitarian actions for drought affected communities across Somalia. It will enable FAO to strengthen the resilience of vulnerable households as the country grapples with a deadly drought.

Nearly 6.5 million Somalis face high levels of hunger, and more than 1.8 million children face acute malnutrition due to worsening drought, the Somali government and UN agencies have warned in a new report. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report indicates that a third of the population – 6.5 million people – are expected to face crisis levels of hunger or worse (IPC 3 and 4) by March, an increase of 1.7 million people since January. 

Captain James Kariuki and Senior Operator Leonard Mutungi have taken more than 23,000 aerial photos over a 3,000 square kilometre in the Shabelle region of Somalia.

It is a job often hampered by poor weather, irregular GPS signals and the slim chance of being shot at by unfriendly forces on the ground.  

An FAO report says that upfront payments ahead of an expected drought significantly improves household purchasing power, food security, and crop protection. The report says that such payments have played a crucial role in offsetting the suffering caused by drought. In 2024, FAO delivered anticipatory cash transfers to 2 400 households in Somalia, triggered by early warning information from the Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM), ahead of peak drought conditions.

The entrance of the Faculty of Agriculture in Amoud University is a hive of activity on what, in Somalia, is the closest you can get to a cool winter afternoon. Students and university staff are collecting dried sorghum, threshing it, and sifting it to separate the grain from chaff, dirt, and other impurities. Nearby, others are putting the grain in marked bags, to be weighed and recorded.

New data compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows that the 2025-26 drought is intensifying rapidly and is likely to be as severe and widespread as previous major droughts of 2022, 2017 and 2011. 

Somalia, on the face of it, is not at first glance a place where the International Day of Clean Energy would resonate. For too long the country has been misrepresented by its wars, hostile climate and food insecurity. 

The government of Somalia has paid tribute to the “Indispensable work” of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as the UN agency celebrates 45 years of working in the country.

“To conduct an inter-cluster/agency monitoring and drought assessment across Puntland – specifically in villages around the cities of Bosaso, Qardho and Garowe to verify the impact of the drought, population movements, service gaps and    programmatic needs so that we can inform and prioritize emergency response planning.”

 

The Government of Japan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have officially launched their partnership with the Federal Government of Somalia to modernize the fisheries sector and empower valuable coastal communities. 

The Federal Government of Somalia and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have embarked on the development and implementation of a Fisheries Information Management System (FIMS) for the country. The new system can revolutionize the fishing sector, both in terms of preserving fish stocks and strengthening government capacity to manage the fisheries' resources. 

Prolonged droughts and erratic rainfall throughout 2021–2022 had a devastating impact on pastoralist communities across Galmudug. In villages like Raamaale, located 32 kilometers from Dhusamareeb, families who rely on livestock for food, income, and social cohesion faced unprecedented challenges. Grazing lands dried up, water sources disappeared, and livestock the backbone of rural livelihood weakened or died. The crisis was compounded by limited access to veterinary services, rising market prices, and fragile infrastructure, leaving many households unable to cope with it.

In the remote village of Bali-Caano, located approximately 35 kilometres from Dhusamareb in Somalia's Galmudug region, Fardowsa Macalin Cabdi stirs a pot of tea as she greets her morning customers. The aroma of fresh anjero and spiced milk fills her tiny café -- a business that has become her livelihood and her pride.

Mogadishu, Somalia | Senior Government representatives, development partners and UN agencies gathered in Mogadishu today for a High-Level Resource Partner Roundtable to discuss progress, challenges and opportunities in the implementation of...

June 2025. Jowhar, Somalia. Halima Hassan Ahmed in her farm in Shamindo.village in Jowhar. ©FAO/Raymeg Consultants/Osman Abdille Osman  Jowhar District, Middle Shabelle Region, Somalia: In Jowhar, the heart of one of...