By Sylvia Chebet
Lido Abdikarin Abdille lives in northern Somalia, battling life's vicissitudes and battered by a seemingly never-ending drought that has wiped out nearly half of her cattle since 2020.
"We rely on livestock for almost everything. If an animal becomes weak, as happens during a drought when cattle have nothing to feed on, you can't even milk it," the 34-year-old says.
Since her father died in 2010, Abdille has had to shoulder the responsibility of looking after her ailing mother and raising her two children in Somalia's Puntland State. A hard life has been made harder by the unforgiving spectre of climatic excesses, first a prolonged drought and then a torrent that overstayed its welcome.
She is not alone in her torment.
Over 13.2 million livestock in the Horn of Africa region perished during the 2020-2023 drought, which has been described as the worst in 40 years.
Data from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and Food and Agriculture Organisation show that Ethiopia lost over 6.8 million livestock to the ravages of drought.
In Somalia, the toll was pegged at 3.8 million. Kenya lost over 2.6 million heads of cattle.
Dr Mohammed Guleid, an expert on livelihoods in the arid region of the Horn of Africa, counts the drought among the most damaging natural calamities in living memory.
"And then came the El Niño-induced rain and flooding to kill what was left," he tells TRT Afrika.
In northern Somalia, Abdille and other farmers and herders were still struggling to recover from three years of drought when rainfall arrived with such fury that homes were washed away, killing over 100 people.
The quick succession of drought and floods pushed Abdille and millions of other pastoralists in the region to the brink of famine and economic ruin.
Bulwark of insurance
With the need for a solution to save lives and livelihoods in the face of extreme weather events ever more palpable, a livestock insurance programme was recently introduced in Somalia.
The Index-Based Livestock Insurance (IBLI) aims to protect the community against drought shocks by offering payouts when herders lose animals to climate disasters.
"This insurance, in a way, is empowering the livestock farmers so that they don't become victims of conditions which are way beyond their control," says Dr Guleid.
A 2018 study by the US Agency for International Development calculated that $1 in timely assistance equals $3 in humanitarian spending later.
This means delayed assistance and restocking costs three times as much as keeping animals alive through drought by buying feed.
"The method works through satellite imaging of the pasture during drought. They have created criteria where they can see the level of the pasture in percentage form through the satellite. So, once the pasture hits a certain percentage, they intervene by supporting the herders," Dr Guleid explains.
Participants receive compensation in exchange for a contribution that is proportionate to the size of the herd being insured.
Abdille is among 40,000 Somalis who have registered for the scheme since August 2022 and received a $50 payout. "This money will be useful for sustaining our lives and the animals. We can buy foliage and water during drought to save our cows, goats and camels," she says.
Muusa Ali Mahamad, communications director at Salaam Somali Bank, one of the project's backers, says this is the first insurance scheme conceived for Somali pastoralists.
Forced migration
Abdifatah Jama Hassan, also from Puntland, points out that many like him have been compelled to migrate to cities for work after losing their traditional livelihood to drought.
"Our country has recurring droughts, and the climate is unpredictable. The traditional pastoralist way of life is no longer sustainable," says the 43-year-old.
Amid the gloom, the insurance scheme is a beacon. "This is a completely new thing to Somali pastoralists, but we can already feel the benefits we get in return outweigh the small amount of money we pay for the policy," he tells TRT Afrika.
The financial coverage has boosted his confidence in the face of the constant threat of drought.
"I believe this initiative will encourage people not to quit keeping animals...Even in the worst drought, there will still be a way to save the animals," says Abdirizak Hussein Mohamed, 39.
But even when there is no imminent threat of flooding or drought, livestock are still vulnerable to other elements.
“The vagaries of climate and disease constantly threaten them, and to a lesser extent, wildlife. They are at risk at any given time," Dr Guleid points out.
Lucrative industry
Still, despite the livestock industry's delicate nature, it can be a lucrative source of livelihood for families and revenue earners for countries.
"Trading in livestock has three value chains – meat, milk and leather," Dr Guleid explains to TRT Afrika.
There is often a ready market for most products, locally and internationally.
“One kilo of meat is around 1,000 shillings, slightly under US $10. No grain gives you 1,000 shillings per kilogram. And there is a huge demand for meat, particularly from the Middle East. Unfortunately, commercialisation is not optimum," says Dr Guleid.
In Kenya, the government is drawing up a livestock master plan to assist in designing a policy that will lead to better resource exploitation.
With appropriate mitigation measures for climate-induced losses, the potential for a livestock industry boom in Africa is enormous.
Botswana is lauded as the continent's model for best practices in livestock management.
Back in Somalia, Dr Guleid observes that communities must be sensitised to practice commercial livestock rearing to reap the full benefits of their herds.
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