Hassan Istiila
Tuesday April 16, 2024
Jigjiga (HOL) - More than 350 chickens died in coops in the town of Godey, located in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, on Tuesday due to an extreme heatwave.
The manager of Godey Poultry Farming Association, Salahdin Abdalla, stated that the weather in the region has been changing over the last two years, and such an incident has never been seen in the town before. He attributed this to the lack of climate control and cooling systems.
Abdalla mentioned that they house 2500 chickens in a confined space with limited airflow.
"We have been here for the past two and a half years, but we have never encountered anything like this before. Due to our limited power, we cannot respond quickly to the current situation. We need assistance from the government; we must receive an immediate response," he added.
Dr. Ashir Aydid, a specialist in animal diseases, stated that climate change has affected both animals and people in the Somali Region State. He urged farmers, especially those raising chickens, to provide open and airy environments for their poultry.
He emphasized that the coops where deaths occurred lacked modern climate control and cooling systems. "We are currently dealing with many chickens affected by the heatwave in Godey town," he added.The Somali region is divided into diverse livelihood zones, including pastoral areas such as Afder and Fik and agropastoral and sedentary farming zones like Jijiga. These areas have been hard hit by environmental disasters, which have profoundly affected the local economies that rely heavily on livestock and agriculture.
Over the past four years, the region has experienced historically high levels of acute food insecurity. Many pastoralists have witnessed their herds diminish due to the scarcity of water and pasture, leading to substantial reductions in household income, up to 35% for pastoralists and 25% for crop farmers.