A cooperative farming initiative in Gabgabo village in Ethiopia’s Somali Region has become a source of income for poor families and those displaced by drought.
Asha Abdi Askar, a single mother of nine, earns $40 a month planting, watering and harvesting tomatoes at Sheikh Muhidin farm.
Although it is hard work, she is now able to support her family with two meals a day.
“I go to work at six in the morning, we take a break at 11 and resume after lunch. Our day ends at six in the evening. That is how we work, and we barely take a break from work,” she said.
This mother was displaced from Tuliguled village following clashes between Somali and Oromo communities in 2018, in which her husband was killed and her 1.5-hectare farm was grabbed.
She had been struggling to get one meal a day from casual cleaning jobs and is willing to work hard on the farm.
She earns extra for packaging the tomatoes and has been saving to buy livestock.
“I have bought a new world for myself with this money. I have got 15 cows and 30 goats,” she said proudly.
Asad Mohamed Saleban, a father of six, waters the crops at the cooperative twice daily earning $40 a month.
He lost his last 10 cows and 30 goats to drought in Gabgabo and the family was down to one meal a day.
“I was unemployed and when I got this opportunity I took it. I feel happy because when you are unemployed you worry about many things, we were struggling to find food but that is not an issue now,” he said.
He has also acquired new farming skills that could be helpful in the future.
“I didn’t know this land is arable. Although I don’t have the money to fund my own farm, I am still hopeful and looking forward to starting my farm someday,” he said.
The head of Sheikh Muhidin cooperative, Mustafe Abdalle Ibrahim, said that their produce is sold in markets in Jigjiga and Fafan. The cooperative started with 10 investors and 70,000 birr ($700). Fifty people are employed on the 50-hectare farm, mostly from poor backgrounds and those displaced by drought and conflict.
