(ERGO) – Hussein Mohamud Farah, a farmer in Burao, has always struggled to get enough water to make the most of his farmland – it has been frustrating for him and his neighbours seeing water flowing in the nearby valley without being able to access it for irrigation.
He owns two farms, one of seven hectares and the other of four hectares, and for the past eight years has been growing tomatoes, guava, lemons, and watermelons.
During the last three years of harsh drought many farmers in this part of Togdher region have given up on their farms due to severe water shortage.
Even in this rainy season, Hussein has been using a borehole that needs fuel to pump out the ground water. On average he spends $5,000 on fuel each farming season.
With costs soaring, he is not able to exploit the full potential of his farm.
Whilst he harvests three tons of fresh produce, he knows he could reap 20 tons if they had constant irrigation using water that collects in the valley.
“The main reason for not taking advantage of the water is the lack of knowledge,” he told radio Ergo. “We farmers don’t make use of the water in the valley even though we need it. This is because it is it is beyond our capacity and we need a government that will help us,” he said.
Local farmers have made many attempts at making canals to channel water from the valley to the farmland, but without proper machinery and expertise they have not succeeded.
Agricultural expert Mohamed Musa Nuh, a lecturer at Burao University, estimates the water flowing in the valley could provide irrigation for 100 hectares of farmland for a whole year. Canals and water storage like catchments or dams need to be constructed.
He observed that there was an opportunity for businessmen and the diaspora to invest in an efficient system of intensive irrigation that would substantially increase farm production and income.
He agreed that local farmers could not accomplish this without the assistance of the government.
“If there were dams that could hold water for a year or even six months, more crops could be grown, but the challenge is in getting the water. Instead of waiting for the rain, if the valley water was used, more cash crops would be brought to the market,” he said.
The coordinator of Somaliland’s agriculture ministry in Togdher region, Abdirisaq Abdullahi Ibrahim, said the government knew about the importance of this water source. He said they planned in future to construct a large dam to enable the water to be utilised for irrigation, which would bring great relief to local farmers.
He added, however, that constructing this dam would be technically challenging and required a substantial investment. The government also planned trainings to build agricultural capacity to prevent food shortages in Somaliland.
