In May 2017, following decades of civil war and political upheaval, coupled with persistent and worsening drought effects, nearly half of the Somali population (6.7 million people) faced acute food insecurity. With one of the least-developed fisheries sectors – averaging one per cent of the county’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) – and the longest coastline in continental Africa, Somalia’s fisheries sector has great potential to fundamentally influence its national food security.

The Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) fisheries programme in Somalia contributes to improving livelihoods and food security. This promising practice factsheet explores one aspect of the fisheries programme in Somalia, which focuses on training youth and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) to sun-dry fish for income generation and household consumption. The quality products are packaged and marketed into inland city markets, the fresh offcuts are cooked and eaten daily. Offcuts become a sought-after commodity and have played a role in significantly improving the nutrition status in the IDP communities involved. Sun-drying of fish has been piloted in the northern coastal town of Bossaso, where IDPs are expanding new communities and face a dire need of livelihood assistance to support their predominantly female-headed households. Activities are being well received by coastal communities of Puntland and disadvantaged communities of the coastal city of Berbera, Somaliland.

What is sun-dried fish production and how does it contribute to building resilient livelihoods?

Sun-drying fish requires a low initial investment while efficiently creating value-added and shelf-stable fish products for income generation and consumption. In Somalia, this practice is particularly effective given the ideal climate for natural drying, as well as the abundance of underutilized small pelagic fish. Skills in sun-drying fish have existed historically; however, 30 years of civil war has degraded the skill base, eroding access to the markets. This programme is building resilience amongst youth, IDPs and women of female-headed households through training in an improved sun-drying method, providing knowledge and empowerment to diversify household diets as well as incomes.

SOME KEY TAKEAWAYS

• On gender: This programme is building resilience amongst youth, IDPs and women of female-headed households through training in an improved sun-drying method, providing knowledge and empowerment to diversify household diets as well as incomes. Approximately 60 per cent of first-round training participants were women and many represented female-headed households. Women’s fisheries-related work is often considered an extension of domestic work, both of which are undervalued economically and often absent in official data collection, as unpaid labour is excluded. The promising model of this project includes men and women working side-by-side and participating equally in each aspect of the training. Packaging and retail systems are key training topics which increase women’s knowledge and access to markets. Women’s income is improved and their economic contribution is increased while shifting their labour effort into the realm of paid and recognized work.
• On value chains: Youth and IDPs were trained on good fish handling and hygiene techniques; production of fish products with longer shelf life; construction of fish processing equipment; packaging, labelling, and storage techniques; marketing; and costs and returns calculations. This experience shows that comprehensive capacity development schemes can foster self-reliance throughout the food value chain and enable participants to market their products into inland city markets, generating additional income, while allowing them to consume the fresh offcuts of their production, thus improving nutritious food consumption.