The farmers say their recovery has been driven by climate adaptation training including the use of AI-based tools to monitor weather patterns, manage pests, and anticipate risks such as flooding, combined with water pipes provided for regular irrigation.

Fadumo Mayow Ali, a mother of 10 and the sole provider for her family, has been harvesting tomatoes, lemons, okra, beans, and maize from her farm and selling them in Baidoa markets making $8-10 a day.

“Life has improved for us now. We cook three meals a day using what we harvest. With the money I earned, I paid the house rent and supported my children’s education. I managed all the family’s needs. Before, we weren’t growing anything, we were farmers by name only,” she said.

Previously water shortages destroyed crops on her four-hectare farm, leaving her in debt. The training helped her, as she explained:

“The most important things we learned were about floods and the risks posed by strong winds to both crops and our homes. We were also trained on how to protect ourselves in advance. Many things we didn’t know before were explained to us. For example, if we know rains are coming, we now understand how to prepare and prevent damage.”

With her increased income, Fadumo has moved her family out of a hut in Madhaayte displacement camp, where they had lived for four years after drought forced them to flee El-dhun village in Bakool region. She now rents two iron-sheet rooms for $22 per month with access to piped water.

She has enrolled eight of her children in Koranic school for the first time, paying $30 in fees that she couldn’t afford when she was relying on odd labour jobs paying $4 at a time.

Nishey Ibrahim Salad, who supports a household of eight, says she has earned around $600 since the beginning of April selling fresh produce. She no longer has to rely on loans and help from relatives.

“Our life is much better now. Before, we could barely eat once or twice a day, but now we cook three times. The food we had before was not even nutritious. Now the difficult conditions we faced are behind us,” she said.

Nishey says the improvement came when her family was facing severe hardship. She works on her farm with the help of her young son, as her husband is elderly and unable to contribute. With her recent earnings, she has repaid her debts:

“I owed $350, and now I have cleared all of it. I am now relieved of the constant calls I used to receive from people asking for repayment when I had nothing to give. Now I have managed through my own effort.”

Her family was displaced three years ago from Oflow village near Baidoa after drought wiped out their three-hectare farm. She feels more confident in farming now, and has reinforced her water catchment.

The chairman of a cooperative group formed by 101 farmers, Hasan Mohamed Adan, said they were assisted by a programme implemented by NGOs, Shaqodoon and World Vision.

“We were taught how to monitor the weather, when to plant, and how to avoid floods while also making use of rainwater. We also learned about water quality and how to assess it. Many things that we didn’t understand before are now clear to us,” said Hasan. They are spreading their knowledge to nearby communities.

The post Baidoa farmers reap benefits of climate knowledge and irrigation appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

Speaking to Radio Ergo from prison, Malyun described the emotional strain of knowing her children are living in hardship without her.

“My family has fallen apart. The children I left behind are not safe and could be harmed at any time. They were evicted from the house and are now staying with relatives. Is that not family destruction?” she said.

“When visitors come to see me, I ask them to take the prison food given to me and deliver it to my children. Sometimes I tell them I would rather the children eat it instead of me.”

Malyun is among scores of low income people whose livelihoods have failed, leading them to be sent to jail due to unpaid debts. Families often face ruin as a result.

In March, Malyun’s children, a girl and three boys, were evicted from the two rented rooms where they had been living and were sent home from school after unpaid fees accumulated.

As Malyun’s husband had died, she was the sole provider for her children.

Malyun is among 63 people imprisoned in Galkayo over unpaid debts, according to local community figures. Most were sole breadwinners for families now facing worsening poverty.

Her eldest daughter, aged 11, had been attending fifth grade. Her eight-year-old son who had just started first grade also dropped out when Malyun failed to pay the $10 a month fees for her children.

“At the beginning of every month, I paid the school fees. But after I was jailed and the money stopped coming, the school told them either bring the fees or leave,” she said.

Her children have been left in the hands of relatives, who are also caring for Malyun’s elderly and dependent mother suffering from mental illness.

Malyun earned a living selling goat meat from a small table in Galkayo market that used to generate $5 to $10 a day. Her earnings covered rent, food, school expenses, and medicine for her mother and children.

Over time, however, her debts accumulated as she bought more and more goats on credit from traders, whilst at the same time her customers were struggling and unable to pay her for the meat they were buying on credit.

“Every three days I had to slaughter another goat because that was how we survived. Nobody was helping me. I had to buy milk and diapers for my mother, milk for the children, food, and school expenses. Everything depended on me. That is how I fell into debt,” Malyun explained.

The traders who supplied her livestock eventually took the case to court, where she was sentenced to prison until she can repay.

Under the system used in Galkayo, people jailed over debt can receive visits from relatives or community members willing to help settle what they owe. But Malyun says she has not found anyone able to free her or rescue her children from their worsening conditions.

Similar hardship is facing the family of Issa Abdilkadir Abdulle, another prisoner being held over unpaid compensation linked to an accidental injury case.

Issa, a displaced labourer and father of eight, was ordered to pay compensation equivalent to $2,100 after a man was injured last year by a handcart he was operating.

Unable to raise the money or provide the three camels required as compensation, he has remained in prison while his family struggles in a Galkayo internal displacement camp.

“I was the only one working. My wife calls me crying and says there is no milk for the baby. She asks if I have managed to find help anywhere. But I tell her I have nothing because I am the one imprisoned,” Issa told Radio Ergo.

For the first two months after his arrest, Issa’s family survived on food bought on credit from a small shop in the camp. But shopkeepers eventually stopped extending further debt after the unpaid amount reached $250.

“We became unwanted because of the debt,” he said. “If you take goods today, they expect payment tomorrow. When they don’t receive it, they refuse to give you more.”

The family now survives on occasional cooked meals or small food donations from neighbours.

The chairperson of the Galkayo Women’s Association, Maymun Alinoor Gayfane, said local women’s groups had mobilised community contributions to help free some women imprisoned over debt.

Three women were released in February and March after the association paid debts of $25,000, $6,000, and $3,000 respectively.

“We selected women who were extremely poor and had no assets or support. We focused on vulnerable people who truly needed help,” Maymun told Radio Ergo.

She added that many of the imprisoned debtors were victims of worsening economic hardship, inflation, and the collapse of small businesses that poor families rely on for survival.

The post Harrowing tales of family ruin as courts throw debtors into jail in Galkayo appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

Read the full report and analysis of feedback from communities across Somalia

The post Radio Ergo audience feedback report 30 April to 6 May 2026 appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

Seasonal Gu rains in March swept through the area in Afdher zone that is known for natural salt production in shallow underground pits. Floods destroyed production sites and thousands of sacks of salt that producers had spent months preparing.

Ibrahim Mohamed Omar said the destruction has left families uncertain about how they will survive. Salt production was the only reliable source of income for his family of six. Since the losses, he has been surviving on occasional casual labour jobs.

“The loss affected us deeply. We felt as though our whole future had been destroyed. For four and a half months we invested fuel, money, and labour into this work, and all of it disappeared. The pain we feel cannot really be measured,” he told Radio Ergo.

He lost 4,000 sacks of salt that could have earned him around $5,000. Some of the salt was washed away completely, while the rest dissolved in stagnant water. He has debts of about $1,000 accumulated from fuel costs, food purchases, and wages for labourers helping prepare the salt.

Ibrahim, 38, said he had been unable to pay school fees for two of his children since February.

Salt producers had expected the risk of flooding and had planned in advance to transport the salt to storage warehouses. However, he blamed delays by a government-appointed committee responsible for coordinating transportation, pricing, and quality control.

“I trusted that my salt would be transported. I could not move it myself because the cooperative and contracted companies were supposed to handle it. We could not sell to anyone else because those companies had agreements with the government. We are not blaming the government itself, but the agreement and delays caused the problem,” he said.

He owns 20 salt pits, all of which are now filled with floodwater. Production cannot resume until the water dries up. He feels lost, he said, and has no savings to fall back on:

“I feel like someone whose house burned down and nothing was saved. That is the kind of pain I am carrying. It happened during a period of high inflation, when the only thing we depended on was destroyed. Recovering from this will not be easy.”

Producers in God-cusbo dig pits between three and five metres deep and pump water into them until salt forms naturally over a four-month period. As rainfall patterns become increasingly unreliable, workers invested in wells to maintain production throughout the year.

Siyaad Omar Roble, who has lived off salt production for the past decade, said he was surviving on borrowed money after losing his harvest. His debts have reached $740 and creditors are refusing to lend him more until he repays what he owes.

“My family has been badly affected because salt production was our only livelihood. Now the rain has taken everything. We are trying to survive, but the pressure is very heavy. Some of the people I support are pastoralists already affected by drought, and they have nothing else to rely on,” he said.

Floodwater destroyed 2,000 sacks of salt from his 20 pits. Still, he hopes to resume production if conditions improve.

“In business, sometimes you profit and sometimes you lose. One loss does not mean the end, so I want to try again. The problem was that the salt stayed too long in the fields. If it had been transported earlier, this damage would not have happened,” he said.

According to Ahmed Barre Jama, a member of the local salt producers’ cooperative, the area contains around 184,000 salt pits. He estimated that nearly 800,000 tons of salt were destroyed by the floods, affecting almost half the population of God-cusbo.

Ahmed said community leaders repeatedly appealed for assistance before the rains intensified, but received no response.

“People were crying out for help to save the salt, but nobody responded to them or even answered their calls. The people themselves have very limited capacity. This is a huge area covering several kilometres, and the salt pits are spread across a very wide stretch of land,” he said.

He warned that recovery may not be possible until next year, leaving many families without their main source of income for months to come.

The post Floods swamp Somali Region salt mines leaving hundreds in distress appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

The work carrying heavy goods for traders and customers offers small daily earnings that are often the only available source of income in the city’s low-income settlements.

Fadumo Mohamed Ali supports a family of 10 through porter work she began in December 2025, earning between $4 and $5 a day.

“I am a mother trying to support my children, struggling every day. We get to cook meals at home, but my income is not much. People pay me small amounts like $0.25, $0.50, or $1, and I collect my income to buy rice, oil, and meat for my children. I feed them regularly. I do not beg from anyone, my children live from my sweat,” Fadumo told Radio Ergo.

Her elderly husband has long been bedridden due to diabetes, leaving her as the sole provider. Part of her earnings goes toward buying his medication.

“I used to walk around the city looking for small laundry jobs or collecting plastics to sell, but I earned very little. Now, sometimes people even give more than the agreed amount, and that helps me manage many needs,” she said.

She has built a small network of customers and sometimes delivers goods beyond the market, increasing her earnings.

Fadumo and her family settled in Garas-Baley in 2023 after losing their farm near Marka, Lower Shabelle region, due to poor harvests. Like many residents they lack access to piped water and must buy it from a private well about 20 minutes away.

“One jerrycan costs 1,000 Somali shillings. We are a large family, so we need a lot of water. When washing clothes, we may use up to eight jerrycans. If I don’t have money, I take it on credit and repay it after I work,” she said,

Despite the challenges, she has managed to pay $12 a month for four of her children studying in Koranic school.

Raho Hassan Mohamed also reports progress in meeting her family’s basic needs since January as a porter earning $3.5 to $4 a day. She supports a household of 11 people.

“With what I earn, I manage. I buy rice for the children. If I cannot afford meat, I cook it with tomatoes or other substitutes. That is how we survive. We cook twice a day, and the leftovers from the evening are eaten in the morning. Being able to cook for my children without begging from others means a lot to me,” she said.

Raho‘s husband, a former farmer, has been unable to find work since they arrived in Mogadishu, where he failed to find portering jobs himself.

Her income allows her to buy water regularly and support her children’s education.

“We were struggling, but now we are recovering. A woman helped me find this work after seeing our situation. What I earn cannot be saved, but it helps me take care of the children. Three of them are now in school, and I pay $6 a month,” Raho told Radio Ergo.

The family live in a makeshift shelter in a displacement camp in Garas-Baley, where they settled after fleeing conflict in Qoryoley district in Lower Shabelle late last year.

Barwaqo Osman Mohamed, another porter, says the work has enabled her to provide consistent support for her six children.

“When I am well and can find porter work, I can provide. Neighbours used to collect food for us but now I have learned the work and support my children. When I came from the rural area, someone showed me where to find work in Bakara market, where. I carry loads of up to 50 kilograms, like crates of tomatoes, and deliver them to different places,” she said.

Barwaqo, 37, supplements her income with laundry jobs for $4, making her weekly income total a reasonable $20-25. Her family was displaced from rural Afgoye in November 2025 due to a combination of drought and conflict.

The post Women pushing heavy loads support displaced families in Mogadishu appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

Thanks to a newly installed solar-powered system supplying water from the nearby Juba river, he made $1,500 from sales of his produce, cleared his $500 debts, and is comfortably supporting his family of six.

“We now eat three meals a day, and there is even food left over. School fees, medicine, food, and all the family’s needs are covered now. Before, many things were bought on credit, even the children’s schooling. Since the solar system came, many things have changed. Life is now comfortable,” Mahamud told Radio Ergo.

More than 1,400 farming families like Mahamud’s in Bulo-Gadud, 30 kilometres from Kismayo, are now linked to the irrigation system of 72 solar panels, water pumps, and pipes installed by local NGO Wardi with support from Jubbaland’s Ministry of Agriculture.

Many of these farmers have had no harvests for almost three years due to the drought. High fuel prices and repeated breakdowns of existing water pumps meant they couldn’t access water from the river although it is nearby.

Mahamud’s maize is selling well in local markets. He has stored two barrels of maize and another barrel of beans for future use, while continuing to harvest pumpkins, tomatoes, onions, lettuce, and peppers from the farm.

Mahamud, 45, says he has started reinvesting some of his earnings to protect his family from future shocks. He spent $300 to buy five goats, hoping to diversify his income beyond farming to avoid exposure again to severe hardship before.

He added that the solar system had removed the stress caused by unreliable irrigation that had made farming unpredictable.

“Every day I irrigate different sections of the farm. One day I water onions, another day lettuce, papaya, or pumpkins. After two or three days we irrigate again or prepare the land. Water is no longer the problem it used to be,” he said.

Some of the farmers in Bulo-Gadud had abandoned their farms due to lack of water, despite being just 500 metres from the river.

Amina Abdullahi Bule, who farms nine hectares of land, said she earned around $2,300 from crops harvested over the past two months. She built a permanent two-room house with a kitchen and toilet for her family of 12 and is supporting the household.

“I harvested 30 sacks of maize. When maize prices increased, I sold it for around $1,000. I also planted peppers and earned about $900 from them. Tomatoes brought in another $400,” she recounted.

Amina had not cultivated her farm since 2022. Although her land lies only a short distance from the river, she hadn’t been able to access water for irrigation.

She turned to casual construction work in Bulo-Gadud, earning around $3 every other day, which was never enough to support her family. Those years were extremely difficult, with hard labour for little reward.

“We now have food three times a day,” she said. “The children cook maize and beans from the farm, and we are also able to buy rice, pasta, and meat. Alhamdulillah, life has improved.”

The solar powered irrigation pumps operate for around five hours daily. According to Bulo-Gadud chairman, Mohamed Abdullahi Omar, the system conserves energy so that water can be supplied even during cloudy weather.

Wider economic benefits are being felt across the area. The increased harvests have generated casual jobs opportunities for local workers, while more produce in the markets has improved trade in food and vegetables.

“Farmers had to bring fuel themselves and repair broken engines. Now they are simply told to come and irrigate their farms. It has encouraged many people, who had lost interest in farming, to return to their land and work again every morning,” he said.

The solar irrigation project cost around $80,000, according to Jubbaland’s Ministry of Agriculture, and is helping families restore food production and household incomes.

The post Solar irrigation enables Jubbaland farmers to harvest again appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

Abdullahi Yasin Warsame, 42, told Radio Ergo that his household of 13 people relied entirely on food distributions and a small cash stipend that suddenly stopped in February.

He and his family were removed from the eligibility list after being classified by the authorities as having Kenyan citizenship.

Abdullahi denies this, saying neither he, his wife, nor his mother are Kenyan citizens, and that his children are all still minors. He said he has not received a clear explanation, despite submitting many complaints to authorities and aid agency offices.

“The situation has changed a lot. When you lose what you had, you realise what it meant to you. We had no other source of income. We depended on the aid card. When it was taken away and we didn’t know why, it caused us a lot of distress,” he said.

His family includes 10 children under the age of 18, and his elderly disabled mother, who has diabetes and high blood pressure. They used to receive 110 kilograms of rice, 40 kilograms of beans, 15 litres of cooking oil, as well as $43 in cash every two months that kept them going.

He said his family had been assessed last year and classified as being vulnerable and in need of continued assistance. Now, he says, the family survives largely on help from neighbours, who themselves have limited means.

Abdullahi works as a night guard, earning about $60 a month. He says the income is too little to cover food, basic needs, and the fees for five of his children who were attending Koranic school costing $35 a month.

He has repeatedly visited aid agency offices seeking answers – but often can’t even gain access to the guarded compounds.

“We have gone back again and again to the offices, but even getting through the doors has become difficult. We complain about lack of food, but we are told the [aid distribution] card has been removed from the system, and we do not know the reason,” he told Radio Ergo.

Abdullahi fled conflict in 1994 in rural Lower Juba region in southern Somalia, where his family had depended on livestock that they have lost.

Kenya’s Department of Refugee Services (DRS) removed about 39,000 people from entitlement to assistance in February, following a verification exercise. Full details of those removed and the reasons were not available for this report.

Camp leaders say some of those removed were reclassified by DRS as Kenyan citizens. Many of those affected had lived in the camps for more than 30 years.

Abshiro Adan Ibrahim, 50, applied for citizenship and became a Kenyan citizen in 2025 after living in the Dadaab refugee camps for 32 years. She thought this would open better opportunities for her.

She continued receiving 100 kilograms of food, 16 litres of cooking oil, and $30 in bi-monthly cash support after her citizenship was granted. But in February, her family of eight was on the DRS list of those cut off from assistance.

“Our overall situation is very bad. You can imagine a family of eight losing their food support. Neighbours who receive food bring us some, and others bring oil. Sometimes women in the neighbourhood collect about 15 kilos of rice and oil for us,” she said.

Abshiro had hoped that acquiring citizenship would help her find work to support her family, as the aid they received was not enough. In July 2025, she travelled to Nairobi in search of employment but returned after a month without success.

She now regrets the decision, saying it has left her family without the support they depended on.

“If I had known that taking [Kenyan] citizenship would lead to this, I would not have done it. I took that step for my five children who depend on me. They have no father and no support. We cannot manage without refugee assistance,” she told Radio Ergo.

Abshiro fled insecurity in 1992 in Sanguuni near Kismayo, where her family had relied on farming four hectares of land.

Camp leaders say the impact of refugees being denied aid is severe. The chairman of Dadaab’s Hagadera camp, Khalif Dhuubow Jelle, said camp leaders and refugee committees had repeatedly raised their concerns with relevant authorities but to no effect.

“These people are very vulnerable. Life in the camps depends on food and security. If food is removed, there is a serious problem. People are confused and suffering. There is hunger, and if assessments are carried out, it will be clear that many are facing it,” Khalif stated.

Refugees in Dadaab currently receive limited water, healthcare, and education services, but continuing food and cash assistance remain central to their survival.

Over the past three years, there has been an incremental reduction in services, food rations and cash support affecting the refugee population in Dadaab. This is attributed to changes in policy around the existence of the camps, as well as to funding cuts.

The post Somali families cut off from aid after verification process in Dadaab refugee camps appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

The families fled from Kurji, Kuusow, Duugsoy, Darab-Ajuuso, Moora-Qasaale and Buulo-Bilaan villages near Bardale in March, when fighting spread through their areas. Many say their crops, houses, and food reserves were deliberately burned, destroying their only means of survival.

Qasido Nur Hassan is among those now struggling in Kuusow camp on the outskirts of Baidoa, where she cannot provide adequate food, water, and shelter for her nine children.

She told Radio Ergo that since arriving, they have received little assistance. She depends on receiving small portions of cooked food from any other families that manage to light a cooking fire.

“We are facing the worst situation. We have no proper tents, no blankets. Everything we owned was burned. Before the conflict, life was better. We survived on what we harvested and stored from our farm,” Qasido said.

They are staying out in the open at a time when seasonal rains have started in the region. Qasido said three of her children have developed fever, but she had no access to medical care nor money to seek treatment.

She believes the illnesses are linked to exposure and mosquitoes, as they have no protection at night. Health services nearby require payment that she cannot afford.

Before the conflict, Qasido relied on a three-hectare farm in Kurji, along with three food storage facilities – all of them burnt down.

The fighting erupted just as she had planted crops after several years of poor rainfall. The return of rain had given her hope for a good harvest, but then she was forced to flee.

“My biggest worry is the farm. The crops are still there in the open with no fencing, and the conflict is ongoing. I have no way to go back or protect it. My children depended on that farm. I keep asking myself how we will survive now,” she said.

She had planted a mix of vegetables and staple crops and expected to earn nearly $3,000 at harvest. Instead, she is left with debts of $600 incurred during planting, plus $1,200 she owes local traders for food taken on credit over the past two years.

Qasido, who is raising her children alone after separation from her husband, said the conflict had compounded hardships already caused by repeated drought. She sees no clear way out of her current situation.

Others in the camp are facing similar conditions, like Hawo Ali Adan, a 43-year-old mother of 12, who walked about 40 kilometres from Kuusow to reach the camp in March.

For the first time in her life, she has been forced to beg to feed her children.

“When the fighting started, we lost everything. Now we cook only what we receive from others, and it is never enough. Life here is very difficult,” she said.

Her home, belongings, and four-hectare farm were all burned during the conflict. In the camp, the borehole located three kilometres away sells one jerrycan for 5,000 Somali shillings, forcing her to beg others who can afford the water. She usually gets about 10 litres for her large family.

“The biggest problems are water and food. We cannot live without them. We also need shelter and containers to carry water. I have nothing left. Even the clothes I wore were burned,” she said.

She had spent $1,500 on planting crops and expected to earn at least $3,000 if rains were good. Even if it became sage to return, rebuilding their farm would require labour and resources, especially as her husband is elderly and unable to work.

A committee set up by the Bardale district administration has recorded more than 2,500 families displaced by the conflict so far. The chairman of the committee, Mohamed Malin Mintan, said the clashes had continued for two months, spreading to more areas and forcing more families to flee.

He warned that conditions in the camps were deteriorating, with no aid reaching those affected, who had already been diminished by the last two years of poor rainfall.

“The situation is getting worse. People have lost everything and have not received any aid so far, based on what we have seen during our assessments,” he said.

The post Clan conflict causes hundreds of families to flee burnt farms in Bay region appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

Read the full report and analysis of feedback from communities across Somalia

The post Radio Ergo audience feedback report 16-22 April 2026 appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.

The 60 or so displaced women were moved from the tarmac roadside to a newly built market further inside the settlement. Although the relocation was intended to improve safety, many women say it had the adverse effect of diminishing their income.

Adey Nasib Abdi, a mother of seven, now spends her nights trying to sell vegetables from her small table but often returns home without earning enough to feed her children. Since the relocation at the end of March, she says her income has dropped sharply.

“The market is crowded with people like us bringing vegetables. Customers are used to buying from the roadside. Where we are inside the market, even cars cannot reach it. A customer with money will not come all the way in to find you. People buy outside and leave,” she told Radio Ergo.

Adey says that in the past three weeks, 500 bananas and three jerrycans of tomatoes went bad because she hadn’t had enough customers at her stall. She owes $75 to farmers who supplied her with fresh produce.

The $7 to $10 a day that she earned by the roadside was enough to support her household. Sometimes in the new market she makes as little as half a dollar.

“The vegetables have gone bad. We are in a lot of debt. Someone may bring 500 bananas and sell only 10, and the rest are left to rot. Fresh vegetables can’t last beyond a day. We have suffered heavy losses,” she complained.

“I take food on credit for the children now. People in town know me as the woman who sells vegetables. I try to call those who owe me money to pay me. I try to manage for two days, but I am no longer anywhere near how I used to be.”

Adey started her business 18 months ago with $20 she earned from construction work and built it into a reliable source of income before the move disrupted her progress. But she acknowledges that working at the roadside had its dangers.

“We were in danger there. We sold right next to the road where vehicles pass. It was extremely hot. We used to get very hot and so did the water we carried with us. My skin even changed. It was a dangerous place. You could not keep children there. We suffered a lot,” she said.

However, she believes the new market will only work if customers are brought closer or if more traders are relocated together to attract business.

Like many others in the settlement, Adey was displaced in 2022 from rural Afmadow after drought wiped out 250 goats her family depended on.

Farhia Abdullahi Mohamed, another trader in the same area, also says she is facing losses as her customers were those passing by along the road.

“We are facing a lack of customers. No one is buying from us. What we bring gets spoiled. This morning I argued with farmers as I have nothing to pay them. I have suffered major losses. The watermelons are spoiled, bananas are spoiled, lemons spoiled, peppers spoiled,” she said in frustration.

She owes $46 in debt for produce she took on credit. Creditors recently threatened legal action when she failed to repay the debt, only backing off after neighbours intervened.

Farhia, a single mother of eight, was displaced by floods in late 2023 that destroyed her seven-hectare farm near Jamame. She has withdrawn five of her children from school because she can no longer afford the $15 monthly fees.

The market where the women now operate was built by Jubbaland’s Ministry of Public Works and Housing, with support from the local organisation SEA and funding from GIZ.

Local authorities say the relocation was necessary due to safety concerns, as traders had been operating along a busy road where speeding vehicles posed risks.

The chairman of Istanbul, Jama Kayd Halane, said the new market includes 48 tables, 12 stalls, and designated areas for food vendors.

“This is a new place and people have only recently moved in. It takes time for a place to become known. People have left a place they were used to and come to a new one, so there can be delays. Before, they were in the sun along the roadside. Now they are in a shaded and more suitable environment,” he said.

He added that the number of traders exceeded the current capacity in the new market and called for expansion with support from authorities and donors.

The post Women traders in Kismayo losing customers in new off-road market appeared first on Radio Ergo - Somali Humanitarian News and Information.