(ERGO) – Farmers in five villages in southern Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region have raised community funds to construct an irrigation canal to reduce their reliance on unpredictable rainfall.
Adan Omar in Qafow village, near Jowhar, told Radio Ergo he was irrigating his two-hectare farm for the first time with water channeled from the river Shabelle.
“I normally depend on the rain which has been very erratic, but now I can plant my crops during rainy and dry seasons because we have water from the river. The only challenge will come if the river dries up,” a cheerful Adan, whose four previous harvests failed due to inadequate rainfall, told Radio Ergo.
The farmers hope the irrigation project will cushion them against the chronic water shortages people have been suffering in the area.
“Apart from irrigation for the farms, the canal has also helped the village to access water for their livestock and for domestic use. There is adequate water and we hope to get a good harvest at the end of the season,” said Adan.
Adan contributed Sh. So. 3.2m ($134) for the construction of the canal. The five villages of Qafow, Bulo-Haji, Gumeys, Doon-wiraale, El-Nur, and Shimbirow collectively raised $108,800.
The 13 km long canal is providing irrigation for around 1,700 hectares of land.
Around 320 farmers in these villages have started growing maize, millet and various vegetables using irrigation.
Shine Haji Abdullahi sits on the seven-member local committee that raised the funds and managed the project. He said it took more than a year to raise the money needed. Every farmer paid $66.5 dollars for each hectare they own. Excavators and tractors were hired for the construction.
“We hired the tractors at So Sh 1100,000 ($45) an hour. We also employed casual workers for the construction,” he explained.
With the money raised they bought five motorised pumps to draw water from the canal. The pumps use 120 litres of fuel per day to distribute water among the farms. The farmers contribute Sh So 1.4 m ($58) daily to buy the diesel.
Abdullahi Ibrahim is growing maize, soya beans and vegetables on his farm and is pleased with the irrigation initiative, hoping to recover after some bad years of drought.
“We get water once every five days. During that time, the water runs continuously for eight hours and we usually irrigate our farms at night,” he said.
“I commend this project because the crops on non-irrigated farms have already started drying up at this time,”he added.
