Training Somalia’s future farmers
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Case IH is working with the Gaalooge Cooperative to train young men and women in tractor usage, repair and maintenance, vital skills that have been lost during years of civil war
Over the past thirty years, civil war has damaged every aspect of Somalia’s economy, including its once-thriving agricultural sector. Increasing the use of modern farming methods would give the country better food security and boost economic growth, so agricultural mechanization is a priority in the work of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Somalia.
The conflict has long prevented the import of new tractors — the few available are decades old. In addition, skills in maintaining and repairing farm machinery have been lost, because the war prevented young people from learning and working. “There is a huge skills deficit,” says Raphael Kigomo, Parts & Service Manager and Trainer at the Gaalooge Farming and Livestock Cooperative, which is working with CNH, Case IH and UNIDO on a training program for Case IH farm machinery in Afgoye, southern Somalia. “Most farmers are still using traditional methods and hand tools.”
SKILLS IN MAINTAINING AND REPAIRING FARM MACHINERY HAVE BEEN LOST BECAUSE THE WAR PREVENTED YOUNG PEOPLE FROM LEARNING AND WORKING
New skills for the next generation
On the six-month training program run by UNIDO, Case IH and Gaalooge, which distributes Case IH equipment in Somalia, students learn the value of mechanization, how to use the tractors and how to service and repair them, says Kigomo. The civil war has been less intense in recent years in Somalia. As a result, more young people have been able to go to university, says Amina Osman, Project Manager at Gaalooge, but they still have not been able to access the practical training they need. “We have new agricultural and mechanical engineering graduates, but they haven’t had the opportunity to gain practical knowledge using modern machinery,” she says.
Around forty students have taken part in the Case IH course so far and several universities have asked for the program to be extended beyond six months, Osman adds. Around 20 percent of the students are women and that proportion is growing as more students take part. The participation of female students is “breaking new ground,” adds Kigomo, because although women provide an estimated 60 percent of the agricultural labor in Somalia, they are still largely excluded from working with machinery, a job hitherto reserved for men.
Supporting a sustainable future
For CNH and Case IH, sponsoring the training program is an opportunity for knowledge transfer in a market that seems on the point of “entering a new era,” says Valerio Domenici, Marketing Manager for Case IH in Africa and the Middle East, and Business Manager for Sudan, Somalia and Senegal. “The first step for any country is to be able to feed the population, so the agricultural sector needs to develop first, along with the associated machinery.” For CNH, the training program with Gaalooge supports a number of the Company’s key sustainability targets.
It also aligns with important UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) including ending hunger and poverty, empowering women and promoting sustainable economic development, points out Daniela Ropolo, Head of Sustainable Initiatives in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, at CNH. “By training women and young people, we’re ensuring a sustainable future,” adds Adan Sh Abdullahi, the chairperson of the Gaalooge Cooperative.”
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