Ahmed Mohamed

Ahmed Mohamed, is a 23 years old farmer, part of a pastoralist farming community that was forced to move due to severe drought.

"My community back then was simple nomad, relying on their livestock, but when the animals kept dying, they started to think about other ways to survive and that is when farming was introduced."

Over the last decades, Somalia's unpredictable climate has devastated traditional pastoralist livelihood. Changing rainfall and repeated dry seasons have made it harder for communities like Ahmed's to rely on a single way of living.

Ahmed, is part of Aneeska, a community supported by the World Food Programme, as part of an initiative that transitions people from the first steps of recovery to solidifying stronger food systems and assisting communities to diversify their livelihood.

Despite the unpredictable rains and repeated dry seasons that continue to strain Puntland, Ahmed's community looks to the future with resilience at its core.

"This land taught us resilience. Even in dry seasons, we hold onto hope. Allah has brought us this far and will take us further."

For Ahmed, hope is reflected in the wooden and metal plough he uses to work the land — a tool that symbolizes the community's transition from relying solely on livestock to building a more stable, diversified livelihood through farming.

Recovery programmes, like those that helped Ahmed's community rebuild after years of drought, have been essential in moving the community from emergency support toward real resilience and self-reliance. But with continued cuts to the World Food Programme, many of these gains are now at risk. Still, Somali remittances remain a powerful lifeline, that can continue supporting communities sustain their progress and plan for the future.