Crop Failure Forces 120 Families from Their Homes Near Baidoa Amid South-West Somalia Drought

Families uprooted by crop failures are seeking sanctuary in makeshift camps on the fringes of Baidoa. A harsh drought in Southwest Somalia has compelled over 120 families to forsake their farms and way of life, enduring severe conditions in rudimentary shelters. Image: Radio Ergo

Mogadishu (AX) — Jinay Isaaq Hassan spent her days in the quaint village of Mintaanyo, diligently working her six-hectare farm while raising her children. However, her life took a drastic turn earlier this year. The life-giving rains failed to arrive, leaving her crops—sorghum, sesame, tomatoes, maize, and beans—helpless under the unrelenting sun. Now, Jinay and her 11 children, who have lost both parents, join 120 other families on Baidoa’s edges, struggling for survival.

“We have nothing to eat or drink. Our farm betrayed us,” lamented Jinay, 57, who reached Baidoa on June 10 after trekking for two days. She scours nearby farms each morning, earning a mere 40,000 Somali shillings ($1.60) for an entire day’s labor, scarcely enough to feed her extensive family one meal.

This year’s Gu’ rainy season was alarmingly brief, wreaking havoc on crops in Somalia’s Southwest. In Mintaanyo, 20 kilometers south of Baidoa, families sowed their fields with anticipation. Yet, their means of sustenance has been obliterated. Jinay, who once envisaged earning as much as $500 from her harvest, now confronts the bleak reality of hunger and displacement for the first time in three decades.

Displacement isn’t solely a physical hardship for families like Jinay’s—it’s a mental blow. Six of her children attended school in the village, but now they face an uncertain future. “In the village, education was possible for my children. Now, there’s nothing,” she shares.

Abdiqadar Mohamed Ali, another local farmer, is facing a similar predicament. He fled to the same Baidoa camp with his family of five, searching for improved conditions. But the struggle continues here. They survive on scant meals daily, often dependent on slightly better-off neighbors for sustenance.

“I imagined a better life here, but we’re surviving one day at a time. If we eat today, tomorrow is a question,” Abdiqadar says. His four-hectare vegetable farm also succumbed to the rain’s absence.

Like many residents here, Abdiqadar finds it challenging to find work in Baidoa, just four kilometers away. Despite numerous tries, he remains unemployed. “I lack the skills demanded in the city,” he says, frustration seeping through his voice. “The drought devastated everything—our crops, our dreams.”

The crisis isn’t confined to food shortages; water is a precious commodity fetched from a well two kilometers distant. The water is impure, and families must pay 2,000 Somali shillings ($0.08) per jerry can. Many simply can’t afford it, and when they cannot pay, they go without.

Mustaf Mohamed Hassan, the deputy chair of the camp’s committee, reports that new families arrive daily, many in dire straits. “They’re arriving with absolutely nothing—no food, no essentials. Their situation deteriorates daily,” Mustaf indicates.

Each year, droughts and unrest force countless agricultural and pastoral families in Somalia’s Southwest state from their homes to seek refuge in camps. Once there, they confront overcrowded conditions, scarce resources, and the overwhelming challenge of rebuilding their lives with minimal assistance.

The future remains uncertain for families like Jinay’s and Abdiqadar’s. As the rains continue to elude them and the land remains parched, they hold on to the hope that aid will arrive before it’s too late.

Edited by: Ali Musa

alimusa@axadletimes.com

Axadle international–Monitoring