{"id":3001,"date":"2019-05-28T04:18:32","date_gmt":"2019-05-28T04:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=3001"},"modified":"2019-05-30T09:37:41","modified_gmt":"2019-05-30T09:37:41","slug":"vegetable-shortage-in-mogadishu-due-to-water-crisis-in-shabelle-river","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2019\/05\/28\/vegetable-shortage-in-mogadishu-due-to-water-crisis-in-shabelle-river\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegetable shortage in Mog. due to water crisis in Shabelle river"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU (SoOHA) –<\/strong> A shortage of vegetables has led to sharp price rises in the markets of the Somali capital Mogadishu, as a consequence of the long drought affecting the bread-basket production areas around the River Shabelle.<\/p>\n

The River Shabelle provides crucial water for irrigation for the farms in the regions of Middle Shabelle, Hiran and Lower Shabelle that supply Mogadishu.<\/p>\n

Despite the onset of rain in some places, the water levels in the river are still below average.<\/p>\n

Hassan Mohamed Sakeel, a wholesale vegetable seller, said there had been only 10 trucks ferrying fresh produce from farms to Mogadishu, compared to 30 per day when harvests were good.<\/p>\n

Prices of vegetables have doubled or trebled. A kilogram of potatoes has risen from 18,000to 40,000 Somali shillings ($0.78 to $1.6) to 40,000 ($1.6), while tomatoes have risen from 120,000 to 400,000 Somali shillings ($4.8 to $16).<\/p>\n

Asha Hassan Mohamed, a small trader in Banadir market, said she was receiving just two sacks of farm produce to sell instead of the usual 20.<\/p>\n

Her expected profits of around 300,000 shillings ($12) have dwindled to around 50,000 shillings ($2).<\/p>\n

Asha said she will have to choose between paying $34 a month fees for her six children at primary school or buying food for the family.<\/p>\n

Asha lives in Wadajir district and has built her family\u2019s life on her small business over the past seven years.<\/p>\n

She sources fresh vegetables mainly from Afgoye, Jowhar, and Janale in Middle and Lower Shabelle.<\/p>\n

The Mogadishu markets affected by the food shortages are Sebiyaano, Bakara, Beerta, Banadir, Wadajir, and Hamar-weyne.<\/p>\n

For the poorer households, buying vegetables has become a luxury they cannot afford. Halimo Hassan Mohamed in Hodan district said she is not buying them anymore.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t afford the vegetables because they have become very expensive. We would do our morning green grocery shopping with a budget of a dollar or half, but now we would need three to four dollars. I am now substituting fresh vegetable consumption with meat and serving it with rice to my children,\u201d said Halima.<\/p>\n

Hassan Mohamed Mudey, a farmer in Irdole village five km from Afgoye, told Radio Ergo that the vegetables he planted on his five hectare farm had all died due to lack of irrigation.<\/p>\n

He is selling butter and milk from his goats, making around 550,000 shillings ($22) for the sale of five litres.<\/p>\n

He does not know how he can continue paying the $20 a month school fees for his three children.<\/p>\n

Most farmers in these areas rely totally on river water for irrigation.<\/p>\n

More recently some have dug their own or shared boreholes to use in the dry season or when the river levels are too low.<\/p>\n

Abdikarin Hassan Mohamed, an agriculture expert at Jamhuriya University, said digging boreholes was a positive trend that more farmers needed to consider to save their crops in future.<\/p>\n

He said farmers do not usually get help so needed to devise their own initiatives to cushion their farms from water shortage.<\/p>\n

Source: Radio Ergo<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU (SoOHA) – A shortage of vegetables has led to sharp price rises in the markets of the Somali capital Mogadishu, as a consequence of the long drought affecting the bread-basket production areas around the River Shabelle. The River Shabelle provides crucial water for irrigation for the farms in the regions of Middle Shabelle, Hiran …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3002,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-food-security-cluster","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t