By Ali Halane - Political Analyst
Somalia’s food crisis is often explained through drought, climate change, or insecurity. While these pressures are real, they conceal a deeper structural problem: a food system that neither fully exploits Somalia’s own agricultural potential nor takes advantage of its immediate regional surroundings.
The country imports much of its food from distant markets while underproducing locally and underutilizing the surpluses of neighboring economies. A sustainable response requires a calm, realistic dual-track strategy—expanding domestic production where climate and water allow, while relying on regional imports from East Africa until meaningful self-sufficiency is achieved.
Somalia is not uniformly arid, and its agricultural potential varies sharply by region. The riverine zones along the Shabelle and Juba rivers remain the country’s most productive areas and offer the strongest foundation for food security. Beyond staple crops such as maize, sorghum, and sesame, these regions are well suited for fruit cultivation.
Bananas, historically one of Somalia’s major exports, thrive in Lower Shabelle and Lower Juba due to fertile soils and year-round water access. Mangoes, papayas, guavas, and citrus fruits such as grapes and lemons grow well in the same zones, particularly where small-scale irrigation is maintained.
Watermelon and other melons are already widely produced and could be scaled up with better storage and transport links. These fruits not only contribute to nutrition but also offer income opportunities for farmers close to urban markets like Mogadishu, Kismayo, and Marka.
In rain-fed regions such as Bay, Bakool, and parts of Hirshabelle, fruit production is more seasonal but still viable. Mangoes, papayas, and certain varieties of citrus can be grown during favorable rainfall cycles, while drought-tolerant fruit trees such as tamarind have long been part of traditional farming systems.
In Puntland and Somaliland, where rainfall is lower, date palms represent the most realistic fruit crop, particularly in coastal zones and oases. Dates are well adapted to arid climates, require relatively limited water once established, and can support both food security and small-scale agro-processing.
Vegetable production offers even broader potential across Somalia. In riverine areas, farmers can grow onions, tomatoes, cabbage, spinach, okra, peppers, eggplant, and carrots almost year-round with proper water management. These vegetables are already staples of Somali diets, yet large quantities are imported due to inconsistent local supply. Expanding vegetable farming near cities would reduce import dependence, lower prices, and improve nutrition.
In central regions with seasonal rains, vegetables such as onions, tomatoes, cowpeas, leafy greens, and pumpkins can be cultivated during rainy periods and supported through simple water-harvesting techniques. Even in drier northern areas, small-scale vegetable production using shallow wells, solar pumps, and drip irrigation is feasible, particularly for crops that command steady market demand.
Beyond production and trade policy, Somalia’s food crisis is also shaped by consumption behavior. Even when local fruits and vegetables are available, many urban consumers continue to favor imported food, often perceiving it as cleaner, more reliable, or socially preferable.
This pattern drives up household food costs, weakens local markets, and reinforces dependence on imports. Addressing food insecurity therefore requires not only growing more food and importing smarter, but also changing how Somalis consume food.
Eating locally produced food—especially fruits, vegetables, and staple crops—can significantly reduce the cost of living. Imported food carries hidden costs: long transport routes, port fees, currency exposure, and trader margins that are ultimately passed on to consumers.
Local produce, when purchased near source, avoids many of these layers. A cultural shift toward valuing locally grown food would keep money circulating within Somali communities, strengthen farmer incomes, and stabilize prices during external shocks.
This shift cannot be left to the market alone. Public awareness campaigns, school feeding programs, and municipal procurement policies should actively promote Somali-grown food as healthy, affordable, and socially responsible.
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Schools, hospitals, and public institutions can be encouraged to source a portion of their food from local farmers, creating predictable demand and reinforcing trust in domestic produce. Media, religious leaders, and community influencers also have a role in reframing local food not as a fallback option, but as a rational and patriotic choice.
Equally important is restoring confidence in quality. Investments in basic food safety standards, simple packaging, and market hygiene would help local produce compete with imports on perception as well as price. When consumers trust what they eat, habits change quickly. Food security, in this sense, is not only about supply chains and borders, but about everyday decisions made in households and markets.
At this point, the role of public authorities becomes decisive. Expanding fruit and vegetable production requires more than favorable climate; it depends on access to quality seeds and seedlings, basic tools, irrigation support, extension services, storage facilities, and rural roads. Authorities must actively support farmers by lowering the cost of inputs, improving post-harvest handling, and reducing losses that currently make local produce uncompetitive.
Carefully designed protective policies are also essential. Seasonal safeguards that prevent imported vegetables and fruits from flooding the market during local harvest periods would give Somali farmers a fair chance to compete, while still protecting consumers from shortages.
Even with sustained investment in crops, fruits, and vegetables, Somalia will not achieve full food self-sufficiency in the short or medium term. Climate volatility, water limitations, and weak infrastructure make that unrealistic. This reality makes the second track—regional imports—not a failure, but a necessary complement.
Until domestic production stabilizes, Somalia should import food primarily from Kenya and Ethiopia, where consistent surpluses exist. Importing from these neighbors reduces transport costs, shortens delivery times, and limits exposure to global price shocks.
Somalia’s continued reliance on distant markets is therefore not dictated by economics, but by institutional weakness and fragmented trade governance. The result is a paradox in which importing food from overseas ports is often easier than importing it from across land borders just a few hundred kilometers away.
The real choice before Somalia is not between self-reliance and imports, but between isolation and intelligent integration. Local production—especially of fruits and vegetables—builds resilience, nutrition, and rural incomes, while regional imports provide affordability, speed, and stability. Together, they offer a realistic buffer against drought, conflict, and global market disruptions.
Somalia does not need to grow everything, nor should it depend indefinitely on distant suppliers. It needs a state capable of managing this balance: supporting farmers with real tools, protecting local produce without distorting markets, opening regional trade without undermining national interests, and encouraging citizens to eat what their land already provides.
Through this dual-track approach—on farms, at borders, and on dining tables—Somalia can move from chronic food insecurity toward a more stable, affordable, and regionally grounded food system.
** Ali Halane is a Somali journalist, researcher specializing in African and Middle Eastern affairs, and co-founder of the Somali Cultural Parliament.
** The opinion expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dawan Africa
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