(ERGO) – Mohamed Nur Maqane, a farmer in central Somalia’s Hiran region, is struggling to provide for his family of nine since they moved from the rural area to Buloburde town in mid-November.
Mohamed’s six-hectare farm in Baarey village depended on rainfall, as the river is 20 kilometres away. But the last two rainy seasons failed and he could not plant anything. They were forced to flee when the reservoirs in Baarey dried up and he had no money to buy water from commercial delivery trucks.
“The place I fled doesn’t have water and we had to leave our farms. But this town has been besieged for nearly 10 years now. We are just struggling with life,” he said.
Buloburde lies along the River Shabelle. The town has been under siege by Al-Shabaab since it was captured by Somali government and AMISOM troops in March 2014. Routes into the town are blockaded by Al-Shabaab forces and everything is in short supply.
Mohamed is supporting his family using the donkey cart he brought with them from Baarey. He transports hay from the market to herders feeding their cattle, making four dollars at most when the market is busy.
“The hay is brought from Jowhar and the surrounding villages. When the vehicles bring the hay to the market, we take it to those who have cows. The market is busy on Saturdays but on the other days if you make $1 or $1.5, you barely buy food for the children. Life has forced us into this, but we used to work on our own farms and made a good living,” he said.
Mohamed’s family is cooking one meal a day with the little he makes with his donkey cart. They are living in a flimsy hut they set up in town. A kilogram of rice costs $2.5 in Buloburde because of the shortage. He says he is not planning to stay long in Buloburde and hopes his village will receive rainfall soon so that he can return to start farming again.
Around 500 farming families in a similar situation arrived in Buloburde in October and November from drought affected villages in the district. Most came from Jabole and Baarey, 54 km and 34 km respectively to the west, and Aborey 20 km to the north of town.
Mohamed Ali Ibrahim left his farm in Aborey hoping his family would get food aid from aid agencies in Buloburde. However, the only help he has received is the roofed-house given to them to settle in by some relatives. He is grateful for the decent shelter but has no cash.
“The town is under siege, no one will give you a loan. There was a time I used to get loans, but now I can’t. These people will not lend anything to you if your debt exceeds $20. When you ask for more credit, they tell you first to pay back what you owe. To pay your debts you need a job, which is hard to come by,” he said.
Mohamed got work on a construction site for a few days when he first arrived in Buloburde for a daily wage of about five dollars, but now is jobless. His family of eight are eating two meals a day given by their relatives.
The last time Mohamed planted on his 10-hectare farm was towards the end of 2020, but swarms of desert locusts invaded the area and destroyed everything. On top of the locusts, the rains failed. His daughter and two sons have not been in school since leaving Aborey primary school.
Buloburde district mayor, Mohamed Sheikh Sharawe, told Radio Ergo that he is concerned by the plight of both the displaced families and the locals, as the district is acutely short of food. The town relies on foodstuff smuggled through the bush away from Al-Shabaab checkpoints. He said aid agencies brought porridge and maize earlier this year but nothing since then.
Production on small farms in the nearby villages used to alleviate shortages in the town, but as those farmers have not planted for a whole year due to the drought the situation is now worsening daily.
