Madina Muhyadin negotiates with traders and brokers over the price of her healthy goats/Mohamed-khadar Abdi/Ergo
After three years of drought, pastoralist households in Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region are beginning to settle debts as recent rains revive grazing land, replenish water sources and restore the health of their animals.
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The improving conditions have also brought more activity to livestock markets in Mogadishu. Among those returning to sell animals is Abdullahi Muhyadin Ahmed, a pastoralist from rural Adale who has been able to fatten his goats again.
He sold 50 goats for $4,200 in early August. From the proceeds, he paid $1,200 to local traders who had provided food and clothing for his family of nine during the drought, and kept some of the balance as savings against future hardship.
“Thanks to God and the good rains, I have been able to repay my debts. If the drought had continued, I would not have cleared them and would have fallen further into debt,” he told Radio Ergo at Dayah livestock market in Gubadley, Banadir region, where he later returned to collect money still owed by buyers.
Abdullahi said selling animals during the drought was challenging because prices depended heavily on their condition. Some goats fetched between $100 and $130, while others sold for just $60 or $70. Buyers also differed over credit sales: some requested animals on credit, while others would not purchase on those terms.
He started borrowing in 2023, after his livestock produced too little milk and buyers lost interest in the animals. As successive droughts deepened, credit became his main way of feeding the family. Creditors repeatedly pressed him for repayment, and some shopkeepers eventually stopped allowing him to buy on credit.
The pressure peaked early this year. Relatives provided occasional small amounts of help, but the family could afford to cook food only five days each week.
Rainfall has since brought a marked improvement. Abdullahi said the 100 goats remaining in his herd were reproducing well, while finding pasture and water had become far easier.
“We now eat well at all three mealtimes. We have plenty of milk, fermented milk and ghee,” he said.
Abdullahi, 50, had once been one of the largest livestock owners in his area. But inadequate rains from 2023 to 2025 led to the loss of 350 goats and 27 cattle, largely because pasture and water ran short.
Worried that climate change may make future rainfall less reliable, he said he planned to save money to shield his family from another drought.
Pastoralists in the area are also pooling resources to support families whose livelihoods were destroyed by the drought, including people displaced to Adale, Warsheikh and Mogadishu. So far, they have donated 10 goats each to 30 families, helping them restart their herds and rebuild their livelihoods.
“Displaced families are encouraged by the improved conditions, and some have begun returning home. Those who remained are also recovering economically,” Abdullahi said.
Madina Muhyadin Ahmed, who lives in rural Warsheikh, said her household of three was likewise emerging from food shortages and mounting debt. Rain during the past four months had restored pasture and water, enabling her goats to regain weight and command better prices.
She said the sale of 20 goats for more than $1,300 had eased the strain on her household.
“We used $800 to repay debts for food bought on credit from local shops between 2025 and mid-2026. We spent the remaining money on food and clothing for my family,” she said.
Madina still has 80 goats, which are recovering and breeding. With pasture and water now available, her family has also moved beyond the food shortages experienced during the drought.
Her children have faced less food insecurity since mid-year. To cover household expenses, she sells two or three goats at the market every three weeks.
But Madina said the discontinuation of the Somali shilling earlier this year had caused additional problems for pastoralists who depend on cash. Her elderly parents and other relatives found it difficult to use mobile-phone money services.
“People do not know how to use money on their phones, especially the elderly. They cannot easily withdraw it. Cash was better for us,” she said.
Much of the livestock arriving at Dayah market in Gubadley comes from Middle Shabelle, where rainfall has been abundant.
Kulmiye Mohamud Hassan, a broker at the market, told Radio Ergo that he had kept records of pastoralists whose animals he helped sell at favorable prices. His records showed recent transactions involving 150 families. Some told him the earnings were helping them repay debts and recover from months of food shortages.
Kulmiye said the increase in livestock sales had also given brokers more consistent work and income, allowing them to support their own families.
