Saturday March 22, 2025
Ali Abshir Ahmed, a farmer, checks water flowing into an irrigation canal in Afgoye, Somalia, on 4 December 2024. FAO/Arete/Mohamed Mohamud Abdi.
Mogadishu (HOL) — In Afgooye, just north of Mogadishu, the sound of flowing water is once again part of daily life. For farmers like 32-year-old Ali Abshir Ahmed, it is a sound that marks survival.
The Shiikhaasha Canal, rebuilt under the Somalia Crisis Recovery Project (SCRP), now supplies irrigation water to 174 hectares of farmland and supports 240 farming households, with more expected to benefit. The project, led by Somalia’s federal government and funded by the World Bank, has aimed to strengthen water infrastructure and boost local resilience along the Juba and Shabelle rivers.
“The new canals have changed our lives for the better—we have water for our crops, and they are protected from floods,” said Ahmed, a farmer and father of six in Afgooye.
Prior to the canal’s rehabilitation, Ali and his neighbours struggled to grow crops consistently due to unreliable access to irrigation and exposure to seasonal flooding.
“We faced many challenges when it came to water,” he said. “When the river dried up for three to four months, we had no water. It was the most difficult time because everything we had worked on for years was destroyed due to the lack of water.”
He added, “Previously, this farm did not have access to irrigation water. We planted seeds and watered the crops using river water, but the river dried up.”
The SCRP has so far rehabilitated 18 canals and 17 kilometres of protective river embankments across Somalia, with the restored canals covering 52 kilometres and benefiting more than 6,500 households across 4,800 hectares of farmland. The embankments now protect 98,000 hectares, including 75,000 hectares of farmland producing 90,000 tonnes of crops.
“Fortunately, the farm has flourished since the canal was built,” said Ali. “We can now water our plants, increase our harvests, transport our crops all the way to Mogadishu and other regions and sell produce at the market for extra income.”
In addition to irrigation, the project rehabilitated bridging culvert structures, easing transport for farmers during rainy seasons. Before this intervention, seasonal floods often made roads impassable, and vehicles transporting crops were frequently stuck in mud.
“As I mentioned earlier, we used to face many challenges with the water system. Vehicles would often get stuck in the mud during the rainy season, requiring a tractor to pull them out. Now, a bridge has been built, resolving this issue,” said Ali.
Afgooye has long served as a key agricultural hub in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region. But prolonged conflict, lack of investment, and climate shocks left its farmers vulnerable. With water once again flowing through the canals, residents say their livelihoods are slowly returning to stability.