FAO awarded $25 million contract to improve food security in Somalia

Monday, June 24, 2024

A mother of seven walks next to a body in Gode Wereda, Gebias village, Somali region, Ethiopia. Internally displaced persons centre, Ethiopia ©FAO/Michael Tewelde

MOGADISHU (Xinhua) — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) announced on Sunday that it has signed a $25 million project to improve food security and resilience in Somalia.

The project, called TRANSFORM, is an important part of the multi-stakeholder Jowhar Offshore Storage Programme (JOSP), which aims to rehabilitate critical infrastructure and promote climate-smart agriculture for smallholder farmers in Jowhar municipality in Somalia’s Hirshabelle region, FAO said.

FAO Representative in Somalia Etienne Peterschmidt welcomed the new funding and stressed its importance in strengthening food security and resilience of communities along the Shabelle River. “This collaborative model not only increases the effectiveness of individual initiatives, but also builds a sense of shared responsibility and collective action for the transformation of Somalia’s food systems,” Peterschmidt said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The project will provide Somali farmers with flood protection and reliable irrigation, helping them use their land more efficiently and sustainably, FAO said, adding that the work includes the development of a comprehensive JOSP governance plan, environmental and social protection studies, and durable solutions to conflict mitigation, land tenure management and displaced populations.

The project signing took place in the backdrop of the official launch of JOSP in Jowhar on June 6 and is expected to improve water supply for nearly 370,000 people in five districts, reduce flood risk for 1.5 million people, and mitigate the effects of drought for 1.65 million people.

TRANSFORM specifically contributes to three of the JOSP’s objectives: rehabilitation of core infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture and value chain development, and water management, governance and community support.