Losing their land

Ahmed Isse and Abdi Youssef Hussein are farmers in Somaliland’s rural Gabiley region. Concern Worldwide came out to discuss with households here their needs, and to find out more about how these people live. Whilst walking a…

Losing their land

Ahmed Isse and Abdi Youssef Hussein are farmers in Somaliland’s rural Gabiley region. Concern Worldwide came out to discuss with households here their needs, and to find out more about how these people live. Whilst walking around their land, staff were surprised at the techniques that these farmers used to maximise water use, and reduce erosion in their fragile soils. Traditional methods can be very effective.

But at the edge of their agricultural land, disaster is creeping closer. Fields of sorghum suddenly give way to a small canyon, as the land has collapsed due to soil erosion. Cracks are spreading closer to the fields, and farmers here fear that they will lose more of their land.

It is issues like this that Concern’s livelihood teams can help to prevent, and the reason for our visit today.