Reaching Somali Farmers Through CATI

Somalia's agricultural economy extends well beyond conventional crop farming. Pastoral and agro-pastoral systems account for a large share of rural livelihoods, with camels, goats, sheep and cattle supporting household income, food access and domestic trade. Along the Shabelle and Jubba River corridors, farming provides another important livelihood base, with maize, sorghum, sesame, vegetables and other crops produced under both rain-fed and irrigated systems. This combination of mobile livestock production and settled agriculture creates distinct research needs, particularly around drought, water access, livestock health, pasture conditions and market access. CATI Africa supports organizations conducting agricultural research in Somalia with structured telephone data collection for baseline surveys, monitoring and evaluation (M&E), impact assessments and program research. CATI can provide a practical channel for gathering information from dispersed respondents, including farmers, pastoral households and agricultural stakeholders, while enabling research teams to monitor changing conditions during and after agricultural interventions.

Supporting Agricultural Research, Monitoring and Evaluation

In Somalia, the effects of drought can extend rapidly from pasture and water availability to livestock health, household income and food security. Agricultural research therefore needs to capture more than crop yields. It also needs to examine livestock assets, access to veterinary services, coping strategies, market conditions and the ability of households to recover after climatic shocks.

For agricultural M&E and baseline studies, our CATI services can help organizations to:

• Assess changes in livestock and household assets
• Monitor access to water, pasture and agricultural inputs
• Capture producer experiences across different livelihood systems
• Track household recovery following climatic shocks

Across Somalia, CATI research can support:

• Pastoral and agro-pastoral livelihood studies
• Livestock health and market assessments
• Riverine and irrigated agriculture research
• Drought, food security and resilience studies

CATI Africa provides a structured approach to collecting agricultural evidence in Somalia, helping organizations understand how programs are performing across different livelihood systems and use timely findings to improve agricultural, livestock and resilience interventions.