Agriculture Productivity and Market Enhancement
Objective
Beneficiaries
Needs Assessment
Food security in Somaliland is heavily dependent on imports as national agricultural production only partially satisfies the internal demand for food. This is particularly true for cereals (maize and sorghum ), the need of which is estimated to be 560,000 tons. In the best case scenario national production satisfies about 40 percent of the population’s needs while the remaining 60% percent is assured by commercial imports and food aid.
Therefore, Somaliland Government has developed a special plan of action to assist vulnerable farmers in overcoming the current situation. In order to reinforce food security, the government of Somaliland aims at achieving cereal self-sufficiency by the year of 2030.
The Problem
- Households are not able to produce enough food to ensure a balanced diet.
- Post-harvest grain losses are great due to inadequate storage facilities.
- Farmers use inadequate practices and do not store grain appropriately after harvest.
- Farmers are not prepared for the cyclical droughts which are characteristic of this area of Somaliland.
- Farmers do not use adequate pest control, because of insufficient knowledge.
Project Goal
The goal of this project is to increase household food security which will address the national insufficient food security, and therefore addresses one of the biggest problems for the people in Gabiley Region. The increased food security will enhance their wellbeing significantly.
Desired Outcome
To achieve increased household food security Innovative Humanitarian Solutions will target two different variables that lead to food insecurity:
1. Amount of food production per household
2. Household income
Duration
Like the rest of the country, Gabiley Region has a bi-modal annual rainfall pattern which is created by the movement of the Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITZ) across the country.
- from April to July the northerly movement of the ITZ brings the major Gu rains,
- from September to November the southerly movement of the ITZ results in the minor Deyr rains,
The two four-month long rainy seasons are separated by dry spells known locally as Jilaal (January-March) and Hagaa (July-September). So normally the cultivation starts in April which is the beginning of the Gu rains and continues for four months.
Approach
To achieve an increased food production per household, Innovative Humanitarian Solutions will establish appropriate farming practices by providing
- Money for 100 farmers to purchase seeds. After the harvest these farmers will contribute seeds to other farmers.
- Farm implements either by lease or purchase.
- A number of seed bulking centers
- A seed bank
This IHS project will make possible the following
- Improvement in the preparedness of the communities to cyclical drought
- Increased food production
- Reduction of post-harvest grain losses
- Improvement of pest control methods
Activities will include
- providin farmers from 100 households with funds to purchase seeds, etc. for the first crop
- provide training for the farmers to get maximum production from the seeds
- train 100 contact farmers in trashing, drying, and transporting of post-harvest products
- provide an environmental impact study to ensure pest control products will not harm the environment
- train 100 contact farmers in proper pest control
- build adequate storage for the harvest through a work program
- create a working opportunity for resident youth
It is believed this approach and these activities will help 100 households to cultivate three hours time of cultivation which will produce .5 tons of food for garden owners in two villages.
Monitoring & Evaluation
IHS staff members and/or village leaders will monitoring the process by
- including the development of work plans
- creating and monitor indicator tracking tables and activity tracking tables
- providing training workshops/participants records
- providing field observations by IHS staff
- IHS staff shall prepare weekly and monthly reports
- an area manager shall review these reports, compile and submit quarterly reports to donor/financier
- baseline data will be collected at the start with an evaluation at the end of the project to enable assessment of impact.
| DESCRIPTION |
Quantity HeadHouse |
Unit (Hours, | Unit costs (US$) | No Units | % Effort | TOTAL Cost in US$ | |
| 1 | Villages/ target Area | ||||||
| Xuunshalay | 50 | 3Hrs | $10 | 3 | 100% | $1,500 | |
| Elinta Yar | 50 | 3Hrs | $10 | 3 | 100% | $1,500 | |
| 2 | TOTAL COSTS | $3,000 |
Sustainability
Sustainable crop production aims to produce more from the same area of land while reducing negative environmental impacts, conserving natural resources, and enhancing healthy ecosystem services. This eco-friendly approach to farming also combines farmer’s traditional knowledge. The farmers previously cultivated with oxen and ploughs. Today they use tractors.
Budget Break Down – Total Project
| Project Budget outline | Hrs | Rate | # of beneficiaries | Total | |
| Direct Project Cost | Farm Cultivation | 3 | $10 | #300 | $9000 |
| Vehicle Hire/ travel in 6 Districts | 4 days | $100 | $400 | ||
| Refreshments for the community meetings | 4 Days | $ | 20-30 participants | $200 | |
| Administration Cost | Electricity | Per month | 25% | $50 | |
| Office Rent | Per month | 25% | $75 | ||
| Water | Per Month | 25% | $50 | ||
| Total | $9775 |
Note: this is the budget for the total project. The first phase will require $3,258 with the second and third phases schedule for the next rainy seasons.