From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia

While livelihoods of Somalian livestock smallholders rely heavily on seasonal climate conditions, little is known of long-term implications of the changing climate for this nation. Here, we quantify implications of the changing climate on the productivity and profitability of livestock smallholders...

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Main Authors: Hussein, Jaabir, Bilotto, Franco, Sircely, Jason, Mbui, Damaris, Omondi, Philip, Sofia, S.C., Shah, Fahad, Harrison, T.M.
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: IOP Publishing 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168971
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author Hussein, Jaabir
Bilotto, Franco
Sircely, Jason
Mbui, Damaris
Omondi, Philip
Sofia, S.C.
Shah, Fahad
Harrison, T.M.
author_browse Bilotto, Franco
Harrison, T.M.
Hussein, Jaabir
Mbui, Damaris
Omondi, Philip
Shah, Fahad
Sircely, Jason
Sofia, S.C.
author_facet Hussein, Jaabir
Bilotto, Franco
Sircely, Jason
Mbui, Damaris
Omondi, Philip
Sofia, S.C.
Shah, Fahad
Harrison, T.M.
author_sort Hussein, Jaabir
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description While livelihoods of Somalian livestock smallholders rely heavily on seasonal climate conditions, little is known of long-term implications of the changing climate for this nation. Here, we quantify implications of the changing climate on the productivity and profitability of livestock smallholders across a rainfall gradient in northwestern Somalia. Using the Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) model, we explore 80 future climate realisations, with global climate model projections including low- and high-impact socio-economic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585), two climate horizons (2040 and 2080) and four case study farm regions. In general, future seasonal and annual rainfall and temperature relative to the baseline period (1981–2020) increased for most regions. Mean annual temperatures increased by 9%–14%, while cumulative annual precipitation increased by 37%–57% from mid to late century, respectively. Grassland production increased with later climate horizons, as higher average annual rainfall together with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide drove up growth rates in spring and autumn. Under the low emissions scenario (SSP245), changes in farm profit were modest or positive, ranging from negative 4% in Berbera–20% plus in Sheikh. Under the higher emissions scenario (SSP585), farm profits were higher, ranging from 23% to 42% above baseline profits, largely due to greater pasture production and lower requirements for supplementary feed. We conclude that future climates will benefit the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers in Somalia, although more agile farm management will be required to cope with increased seasonal climate variability.
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spelling CGSpace1689712025-11-13T10:38:36Z From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia Hussein, Jaabir Bilotto, Franco Sircely, Jason Mbui, Damaris Omondi, Philip Sofia, S.C. Shah, Fahad Harrison, T.M. climate change adaptation livestock livestock production sustainability While livelihoods of Somalian livestock smallholders rely heavily on seasonal climate conditions, little is known of long-term implications of the changing climate for this nation. Here, we quantify implications of the changing climate on the productivity and profitability of livestock smallholders across a rainfall gradient in northwestern Somalia. Using the Sustainable Grazing Systems (SGS) model, we explore 80 future climate realisations, with global climate model projections including low- and high-impact socio-economic pathways (SSP245 and SSP585), two climate horizons (2040 and 2080) and four case study farm regions. In general, future seasonal and annual rainfall and temperature relative to the baseline period (1981–2020) increased for most regions. Mean annual temperatures increased by 9%–14%, while cumulative annual precipitation increased by 37%–57% from mid to late century, respectively. Grassland production increased with later climate horizons, as higher average annual rainfall together with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide drove up growth rates in spring and autumn. Under the low emissions scenario (SSP245), changes in farm profit were modest or positive, ranging from negative 4% in Berbera–20% plus in Sheikh. Under the higher emissions scenario (SSP585), farm profits were higher, ranging from 23% to 42% above baseline profits, largely due to greater pasture production and lower requirements for supplementary feed. We conclude that future climates will benefit the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers in Somalia, although more agile farm management will be required to cope with increased seasonal climate variability. 2024-12-01 2025-01-14T14:56:01Z 2025-01-14T14:56:01Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168971 en Open Access application/pdf IOP Publishing Hussein, Jaabir, Bilotto, Franco, Sircely, Jason.,Mbui, Damaris, Omondi, Philip, Sofia, S.C., Shah, Fahad, Harrison, T.M. From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia.Paper. ILRI. Kenya
spellingShingle climate change adaptation
livestock
livestock production
sustainability
Hussein, Jaabir
Bilotto, Franco
Sircely, Jason
Mbui, Damaris
Omondi, Philip
Sofia, S.C.
Shah, Fahad
Harrison, T.M.
From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia
title From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia
title_full From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia
title_fullStr From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia
title_full_unstemmed From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia
title_short From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production in Somalia
title_sort from crisis to opportunity climate change benefits livestock production in somalia
topic climate change adaptation
livestock
livestock production
sustainability
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/168971
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