Access to CASE IH Machinery Heralds New Era for Somali Farmers
June 30, 2022 /3BL Media/ - CNH Industrial has signed a trailblazing import and distribution agreement with Gaalooge Farming & Livestock Cooperative for CASE IH products in Somalia. Following decades of setbacks and severely challenging circumstances, thanks to this recently signed agreement, farmers in Somalia can now look forward to accessing reliable new machinery, as well as service and parts support.
Sustainable growth
For many years these farmers have only been able to import used machinery for their farms. Additionally, farmers and rural communities have endured debilitating droughts and decades of civil war, the COVID-19 pandemic, macroeconomic challenges, and a recent desert locust upsurge. Attention is now focused on how the country´s private sector can drive and sustain agricultural growth in a country that relies on agricultural production. Key requirements for boosting agricultural investment in Somalia are to better exploit international and regional linkages and create strategic partnerships for sustained national growth.
The beginning
The Gaalooge-Case IH partnership was initiated at the Italy-Somalia Business Forum in Mogadishu in December 2019 where negotiations were supported by teams of experts from the Enterprise Development Units in Somalia and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) Somalia Programme.
Gaalooge, based in Baidoa, Somalia, is registered as a cooperative under the local Ministries of Commerce and Agriculture. Owned by a group of Somali farmers, it is a dedicated agro-business enterprise actively involved in the production and distribution of a variety of agricultural inputs and farm machinery throughout the country.
“The new partnership enables, for the first time in recent history, the supply of new agricultural machinery to Somalia. Case IH, a brand of CNH Industrial, with its distinctive red livery and world famous reputation for reliability, is the brand of farm machinery that Somali farmers will employ on their farms. Case IH tractors and equipment, including combine harvesters, are held in high regard throughout Africa, with proven performance in the toughest conditions” says Adam Mohamed, Gaalooge’s CEO.
Agricultural environment
Somalia has considerable productive resources, which offer huge potential for delivering rapid economic growth, with important impacts on people’s livelihoods. These resources include 8.5 million hectares of arable land, more than 50 million livestock and about 1.8 million tons of fish annually for export. However, only 2.3 million hectares are under rainfed agriculture plus another 630,000 hectares under irrigation.
With the agricultural sector renowned for being one of the best drivers to improve livelihoods and to take national economies forward quickly and effectively, this new partnership represents a key step in rebuilding the country of Somalia.
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