Turkish charities provide lifeline to Somalia with greenhouses

The School of Agriculture project jointly organized by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Istanbul-based charity Humanitarian Aid Foundation (IHH), has revived agricultural activities in Somalia. The project, conceived as a simple school in 2012, has evolved into the Somalia Anatolian Faculty of Agriculture and is currently serving as a university run by the Somalian charity ZamZam.

So far, more than 2,000 students have graduated from the school located in the capital Mogadishu. Graduates have pioneered the establishment of new greenhouses across the country, which had none before the school opened. Today, nearly 200 greenhouses serve the needs of Somalians.

The school also recently launched an education program for chicken breeding, by raising Atak-S, a breed commonly produced in Türkiye. In the greenhouses, vegetables flourish thanks to seeds brought in from the Mediterranean Turkish province Antalya, a greenhouse hub. Farmers are experimenting with new vegetables, including cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes and eggplant, seeking to spread their cultivation in the country.

Apart from greenhouse techniques, students learn how to use agricultural equipment and the best irrigation methods at the school, while the school's newly established Seed Research Institute focuses on the production of seeds suitable for Somalia's climate.

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Photo: A view of a greenhouse at the school, in Mogadishu, Somalia, Aug. 17, 2022. (AA PHOTO)

Source: Daily Sabah