Page 44 - FULL YEAR BOOK 2021

Somalia

to OCHA. FAO managed to reach ministries. In Somaliland and Puntland, “This is the first of our efforts to reach
out to pastoralist communities that the relevant Ministries of Livestock out to our partners in Somalia, especially
remained cut off for some days in the implemented the activities directly. the Somali Agriculture Technical Group
Bari, particularly in the Qardho area, FAO staff, who included field monitors and the national agricultural research
and Toghdeer regions. Flooding also and third-party monitors, supervised all system, to increase the awareness
affected the logistics operations of the field activities. All stakeholders such as on the integrated pest management
field teams, which had to be quickly local authorities, elders, and pastoralist approaches that can help combat this
reorganized. and agro-pastoralist communities were highly destructive pest,” said B.M.
Inaccessibility to some areas due involved in planning and community Prasanna, Director of CIMMYT’s Global
to insecurity and conflict was another awareness activities before and during Maize Program and the CGIAR Research
challenge to overcome. FAO had to make the campaign. Program on Maize (MAIZE).
sure that livestock keepers living in “This training was designed to
inaccessible areas were also reached. In help participants to gain a better
Middle Juba, for example, implementing understanding about fall armyworm,
partners coordinated with beneficiaries how to identify it, how to monitor
to have their animals vaccinated and and scout for it, how to effectively
treated in neighbouring towns, at the implement a management strategy that
border with Lower Juba and Gedo. In is environmentally and ecologically
Middle Shabelle, the campaign had to benign, in order to protect the food
be suspended for several days due to security and livelihoods of farmers and
a series of terrorist attacks perpetrated their families,” Prasanna said.
on African Union Mission to Somalia An integrated pest management
peacekeeping forces and the Somali Finally yet importantly, donors’ strategy for sustainable control of fall
National Army, but safely resumed and generous funding has been essential. armyworm should consider various
concluded after a few days. The UK’s DFID funded the purchase of the interventions, including regular scouting
By the end of April, and despite all 14.5 million doses of CCPP vaccines and and monitoring of the pest in the fields,
obstacles along the way, FAO successfully the implementation cost of the campaign host plant resistance, biological and
completed the vaccination and treatment in southern and central Somalia. USAID biorational control, agroecological
campaign. A total of 14.5 million goats covered the cost of implementation in management, and use of environmentally
have been vaccinated countrywide Somaliland and Puntland. ECHO co- safer pesticides and good agronomic
against CCPP, and another 3.5 million funded the implementation cost of practices tailored for the socio-cultural
animal heads treated against parasites, the vaccination campaign in central and economic contexts of the farmers.
infectious diseases and external wounds Somalia; and Germany provided funding Ultimately, the purpose of a functional
in Banadir, Puntland and Somaliland. to buy the veterinary medicine and field integrated pest management approach is
“This campaign has benefitted both equipment. to suppress pest population by applying
pastoralists and agro-pastoralists who techniques that minimize human and
could not have otherwise accessed or environmental harm, while protecting
afforded vaccinations or treatments, Agriculture partners the crops from economic damage.
especially during these uncertain “I am happy to see the expertise from
has crippled economies worldwide,” learn about integrated high levels of research at CIMMYT,
times when the Covid-19 pandemic
explains Dr Khalid. icipe, IITA, universities, SATG and the
humanitarian sector coming together to
A far-reaching fall armyworm control tackle and solve problems linked to food
production and consumption. I believe
campaign thanks to practices that such important trainings have great
value for Somalia, and should be further
strengthened and encouraged,” said
Fall armyworm continues to cause Abdalla Togola from the ICRC.
a collaborative effort havoc in Africa. Farmers in Somalia have Hussein Haji, the Executive Director
not been spared since this unwelcome of SATG was optimistic that the training
The success of this campaign comes guest showed up in the country over would go a long way to empower farmers
as a result of a great collaborative three years ago. As part of the mitigation in Somalia, through their cooperatives,
effort among many stakeholders. “We measures, the Somali Agriculture and could lead to better ways of tackling
faced some important hurdles but with Technical Group (SATG) in partnership challenges such as fall armyworm,
the help of the local implementing with the International Maize and Wheat already made worse by other stresses
partners and line ministries, coupled Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and like drought and desert locusts.
with our determination, we managed the International Committee of the Red
to reach all the beneficiaries including Cross (ICRC) recently conducted online
those in inaccessible areas,” says FAO’s trainings on fall armyworm management
livestock sector coordinator Dr Khalid. for sustainable crop protection. The
The campaign was carried out together online trainings, targeting national
with Somalia’s Ministries of Livestock at agriculture stakeholders in the country,
Federal and State levels. In southern and took place on August 25 and September
central Somalia, it was implemented on 30, 2020, with nearly 250 participants
the ground by Livestock Professional attending both webinars.
Associations under the supervision of the
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