{"id":15285,"date":"2024-11-12T22:59:46","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T22:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=15285"},"modified":"2024-11-16T14:59:25","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T14:59:25","slug":"icrc-boosts-somali-farmers-resilience-against-climate-crises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2024\/11\/12\/icrc-boosts-somali-farmers-resilience-against-climate-crises\/","title":{"rendered":"ICRC boosts Somali farmers\u2019 resilience against climate crises"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU — <\/strong>In the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Somalia, where droughts, locusts and erratic weather patterns threaten livelihoods, one crop has withstood the test of time: the date palm. Nearly a decade after thousands of date palm seedlings were distributed to cooperatives and farmers, communities continue to depend on this resilient crop.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe quality of date palms we inherited from our forefathers wasn\u2019t of good quality, with a yield of 20 to 30kg per tree. What we have now is much, much better,\u201d says Mohamud Abdi, a farmer from Karin village, Bari region, on the changes since receiving the seedlings almost a decade ago.<\/p>\n

In November 2015, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)\u00a0distributed 42,000 date palm seedlings to farming communities<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>in Sanaag, Nugaal, Bari, Mudug and Sool regions. Farmers like Mohamud have seen their yields soar, and their livelihoods transformed.<\/p>\n

With relentless conflict, and increasingly frequent climatic disasters \u2013 droughts and floods \u2013rural families, dependent on crops and animals have been amongst the hardest hit. Off the back of one of the worst droughts in Somalia\u2019s history, the country was devastated by El-Nino floods towards the end of last year. This year\u2019s Gu (long) rains, occurring from April to June, also caused flooding in parts of Somalia displacing thousands of families. And yet, conflict remains the number one driver of displacement according to Protection & Return Monitoring Network, that tracks movement of populations in the country. These overlapping challenges have pushed farmers to rethink their cultivation practices, creating a shift towards climate-resilient crops and renewable sources of energy \u2013 solar powered irrigation \u2013 to adapt and endure.<\/p>\n

Being an indigenous fruit, dates have proven to be remarkably tolerant to climate shocks like droughts, floods and even\u00a0lo<\/span>cust invasions<\/a>,<\/span> which have proven to be all-too-common occurrences in Somalia.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the locusts came, they ate everything, except the date palms.\u201d Mohamud recalls,<\/p>\n

\u201cThey only ate the leaves, but the trees continued to fruit. Lemon trees and other crops were completely destroyed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Date farming is also growing in relevance in a country that continues to grapple with food insecurity. According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), 3.6 million people (19% of the population) are currently experiencing crisis-levels of hunger in the country. A figure that is expected to rise to 4.4 million between now and December, with less-than-average Deyr rainy season predicted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt gives us hope to see how these programs have helped the farmers evolve,\u201d says Samer Jarjouhi, Head of Programs & Prevention for the ICRC in Somalia, reflecting on the progress over the past decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnologies like drought-resistant crops and solar irrigation, have not only improved crop yields, but empower Somali communities to adapt and even thrive, despite the many adversities they face.<\/p>\n

Abass Omar, a father of 16, in Barookhle farming zone in Bari region echoes these sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cPalm dates are more valuable than other yields, just as camels are valued more than goats. They are more profitable than other crops, providing higher income,\u201d he notes.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes there is nothing to harvest due to diseases, as what happened with sweet watermelons this year. Palm dates can survive for years,\u201d Abass poignantly added.<\/p>\n

As the country faces rising food insecurity and unfavorable weather conditions, date palms offer a stable, long-term solution to sustain livelihoods, and generate income for families. The success of this date palm programme offers a blueprint for sustainable, resilient farming practices that can withstand even the harshest of conditions.<\/p>\n

Source: HOL\u00a0 \u00a0 Origin: view original<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU — In the harsh and unforgiving landscape of Somalia, where droughts, locusts and erratic weather patterns threaten livelihoods, one crop has withstood the test of time: the date palm. Nearly a decade after thousands of date palm seedlings were distributed to cooperatives and farmers, communities continue to depend on this resilient crop. \u201cThe quality …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15285","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-environment-and-disasters","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15285","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15285"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15285\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15309,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15285\/revisions\/15309"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15285"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15285"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15285"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}