By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Djibouti, 22 September 2026 Djibouti and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have begun validating a new five-year cooperation plan focused on water, rural development and climate-resilient food systems to tackle recurring drought and heavy dependence on food imports.
The validation meeting for the COSOP 2026–2031 programme was held in Djibouti City and chaired by Minister of Agriculture, Water, Fisheries, Livestock and Natural Resources Radwan Abdillahi Bahdon.
The programme establishes the framework for cooperation between Djibouti and IFAD over the next five years in agriculture, water management, fisheries, livestock, value-chain development and the rural economy.
It succeeds the 2019–2025 programme, which underwent an independent evaluation to ensure lessons learned inform the new strategic framework.
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The new programme will focus on developing food systems that can withstand drought and climate change, strengthening value chains, encouraging private-sector participation and reinforcing institutions operating in rural areas, with priority given to smallholder farmers and producers, fishing communities, pastoralists, women and young people.
Bahdon said the country faces several challenges, including recurring droughts, degraded grazing land, vulnerable livestock systems and limited cultivable land. He noted that the PROGRES and PGIRE projects, implemented through cooperation between Djibouti and IFAD, had improved access to water, rural infrastructure and support for agricultural and livestock activities, and called for their sustainability to be secured and maintenance systems strengthened.
The meeting was attended by Deputy Minister for Decentralisation Omar Houssein Omar, government officials, representatives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, technical and financial partners, civil society organisations and representatives of rural communities.