Jama Hassan, 46, was described by local cattle herders as crazy when he decided to dig the land in Kalabayr village to grow cash crops.
Jama, a father of eight, had spent the last 15 years as a bus driver plying the route between Puntland and Somaliland.
In April, he rented three hectares of land and started his farm, the first of its kind in Kalabayr, a pastoralist village 60 km from Garowe.
Kalabayr was established around 45 years ago and is mainly inhabited by pastoralists. The community relies on underground water reservoirs to store rain water for drinking. Rainfall is infrequent and there are no wells.
Jama said the idea to start a farm struck him as he was driving on a highway ferrying passengers. “In fact I heard several times calls on the local community to take advantage of their land resources, but it wasn’t easy to do this in such a dry village, where most residents have never thought about such an idea,” he said.
He has already planted one hectare, where he grows lemons, guavas and maize, and tomatoes, peppers and greens.
“I have just harvested tomatoes and some other vegetables,” he told Radio Ergo’s local reporter.
The locals were surprised when they saw him digging the dry land for farming.
Some of them called him the ‘crazy man’ during the early days of his project, but he was determined to grow produce for the local market. He called on others in the village to profit from their land resources instead of wasting their time sitting in teashops.
Jama, being new to farming, was helped by his uncle who farms in Kabsuma in agricultural rich Lower Juba region.
He also learned a lot of information from Radio Ergo broadcasts, especially the farming programme aired every Wednesday.
“I really admire this programme. I learnt about different types of farming, correct spacing between plants, use of pesticides, types of pesticides that are not suitable for crops, among other things. I still listen to the programme regularly as a seminar, and I have to acknowledge that it is my school where I gained knowledge that I couldn’t get elsewhere,” he said.
The villagers are now buying fruit and vegetables from Jama’s farm. Many say they are happy to have him in their community and encourage him to keep going. Jama said his income is still low, but farming is his passion and he has bigger plans for the future.
