This report shares an analysis of the effects of natural and man-made shocks in Somalia’s the agri-food system. It analyses the results of a field assessment conducted in August 2021. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing a project to contribute to data collection and analysis linked to shocks affecting agricultural livelihoods and food security, in order to inform evidence-based programming in selected countries. The objective is to assess the effects of these shocks on the agri-food system, which includes crops, livestock and fishing, food supply, livelihoods and food security of rural populations. Information is collected from primary sources of the production process: producer households, traders or marketers, inputs suppliers, extension officers and other key informants. This report covers the third round of data collected through the monitoring system in Somalia. A first round was collected in 2020, followed by an initial report published early in 2021. The report on the second round was published in September 2021. The report was made possible by the support of the American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents of this report are the sole responsibility of FAO and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States of America Government.

This report shares the analysis on the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the agri-food system in Somalia based on the assessment conducted during August–September 2020. Funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is implementing a project to contribute to data collection and analysis linked to COVID-19 to inform evidence-based programming in selected countries. The objective is to assess the effects of COVID-19 in the agri-food system, which includes livestock and fishing, food supply, livelihoods and food security of the rural population at national level. Information is collected from primary sources of the production process: producer households, traders or marketers, inputs suppliers, extension officers and key informants. The first round of data collection has been completed, with rounds II and III foreseen in 2021.

New evidence this year corroborates the rise in world hunger observed in this report last year, sending a warning that more action is needed if we aspire to end world hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. Updated estimates show the number of people who suffer from hunger has been growing over the past three years, returning to prevailing levels from almost a decade ago. Although progress continues to be made in reducing child stunting, over 22 percent of children under five years of age are still affected. Other forms of malnutrition are also growing: adult obesity continues to increase in countries irrespective of their income levels, and many countries are coping with multiple forms of malnutrition at the same time – overweight and obesity, as well as anaemia in women, and child stunting and wasting.

In 2019 and 2020 alone, sub-Saharan Africa was hit by a once-in-a-century desert locust upsurge and the COVID-19 pandemic while simultaneously facing conflict, droughts, and floods among other shocks and stressors. More than 60 percent of the population in sub-Saharan Africa depends on agriculture for food and income. Smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fishers, and foresters are the key change agents in restoring and improving livelihoods in Africa. By carrying out interventions that are both anticipatory and reactive, tackling the root causes of fragility, the challenges facing food security and nutrition can be addressed. In the effort to reach Zero Hunger by 2030, the transformation to more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agri-food systems must be supported for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind. This publication highlights how FAO is working with partners and governments to strengthen the ability of communities in sub-Saharan Africa and food systems to withstand and rapidly recover from crises. The organization is contributing to safeguarding the livelihoods of the most vulnerable agro/pastoral households in sub-Saharan Africa through a range of activities, including capacity building, knowledge sharing, food security and nutrition analyses, and anticipatory actions. The achievements and interventions presented in this publication are not a comprehensive list of all of FAO’s resilience work in the region but rather provide an overview of what is being done to reach our common goal. This is made possible through strong partnerships at all levels. Resource partners’ valuable contributions in particular are critical to these successes. By strengthening collaboration with local, regional, and global partners, the persistent challenges related to food?crisis contexts are tackled to build back better livelihoods and agri-food systems, to ensure a positive future for the African people.

In recent years, the number of people experiencing acute hunger has been persistently high. And 2018 was no exception. Some 113 million people in 53 countries were acutely hungry last year. That is 113 million girls, boys, men and women, old and young, who were unable to access enough food and required humanitarian assistance to meet their most basic needs. For FAO, building resilient agriculture-based livelihoods and food systems is at the core of efforts to fight acute hunger and avert food crises. We know how critical humanitarian assistance is. At the same time, it is clear that humanitarian assistance on its own is not enough to win the battle against acute hunger. That is why FAO’s humanitarian work is firmly embedded within a foundation of resilience building. And this was really demonstrated in 2018, when the breadth of our work extended from immediate humanitarian response to protect lives and livelihoods in some of the most complex contexts in the world, including South Sudan and Yemen, to addressing the vulnerability of pastoral populations and facilitating the development of livestock feed balances in the Horn of Africa, to supporting disaster risk reduction efforts from Myanmar to Central America. Publications such as this offer us an opportunity to reflect on some of our achievements over the past year and identify how we can do better in the next. It is not intended as an exhaustive list of the work done under FAO’s strategic programme on resilience, but rather a snapshot to demonstrate what we can achieve and how much more this to be done.

This report documents the pressures on Somalia's livestock and crop subsectors over the years but notes that there is a cause for optimism thanks to the country's resilience and resources. These include a variety of agroecological zones and vast tracts of arable land and areas suitable for livestock production, which in turn can support markets, export trade and overall growth.

Unless action is taken now to make agriculture more sustainable, productive and resilient, climate change impacts will seriously compromise food production in countries and regions that are already highly food-insecure. The Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, represents a new beginning in the global effort to stabilize the climate before it is too late. It recognizes the importance of food security in the international response to climate change, as reflected by many countries prominent focus on the agriculture sector in their planned contributions to adaptation and mitigation. To help put those plans into action, this report identifies strategies, financing opportunities, and data and information needs. It also describes transformative policies and institutions that can overcome barriers to implementation. The State of Food and Agriculture is produced annually. Each edition contains an overview of the current global agricultural situation, as well as more in-depth coverage of a topical theme."