By Abdullahi Salad - Reporter
Somalia, 11 December 2025 - Somalia’s Minister of Agriculture, Mohamed Abdi Hayir ‘Maareeye’, has announced that the government is reviewing its drought mitigation measures to ensure effective response.
One of the major changes is to deliver emergency aid directly to affected individuals in their homes and farmlands rather than waiting until they flee to urban displacement camps.
Maareeye made the remarks during a meeting with humanitarian agencies working in Somalia, including Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Program (WFP), United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and other partners supporting the government’s drought relief efforts.
The minister said the government and its partners have agreed that assistance should reach drought-affected individuals where they live, while also promoting measures that help communities remain in their local areas. These include training farmers on climate-resilient agriculture, supporting pastoralists with livestock feed, and strengthening systems that enable families to sustain themselves during prolonged dry seasons.
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“We want people to be assisted where they live, to protect their livestock and farms, and to prevent unnecessary displacement,” said Maareeye), adding that the decision is part of the government’s new resilience-focused policy for managing droughts at their source.
Humanitarian agencies have long faced criticism for contributing to internal displacement. Senator Muse Suudi is among officials who have accused aid actors of playing a role in the displacement, arguing that some workers encourage those affected to leave their rural homes and inhabit overcrowded camps in towns.
Recent reports released by the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs ( OCHA) show that more than 3 million people are currently displaced within Somalia, most of whom have left their local areas due to drought, climate shocks, and conflict.
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