Awareness Program
Lander Prosopis is carrying out an awareness program around Prosopis Juliflora also known as Garanwa in Somali, funded by WHH, aiming to address the problem of Prosopis Julifora, a fast growing, deep-rooted and thirsty invasive plant that forms impenetrable bushes and has spread across rangelands in several countries. It reduces the land available for farming and grazing, undermining local livelihoods. Communities favor eradication, but this is difficult and costly. Lander Prosopis has an alternative solution to maintain the growth of Prosopis and by working with International NGO’s such as WHH, GIZ, BMZ and the Somaliland Government and others we aim to promote the use of Prosopis pods, which have a high protein content, in fodder production. The demand for fodder, from pastoralists and the livestock trade, is increasing as livelihoods change and diversify. Livestock sector is the backbone of the economy of Somaliland and in recent years through extreme drought, the livelihood of many nomads who depend on livestock market to generate income has been under threat.
Lander Prosopis has conducted community-level training workshops with villagers, training them to effectively manage Prosopis. Local people have shown that they are eager to tackle this issue. They have formed strong, cohesive cooperatives that could develop profitable enterprises, making use of Prosopis wood, for charcoal, carpentry and construction, as well as Prosopis pods for animal feed and fertilizer.
By creating an awareness program we aim to teach how they can effectively use Prosopis as an alternative solution to create income and fed their animals during the drought seasons. During a recent study research with Welthungerhilfe (WHH) and Somaliland Women Veterinary Association (SOWVET), it showed that Prosopis can be used as a feed supplement and as an emergency intervention during drought seasons to safe guide animal lives and to sustain the farmer’s income in terms of milk and meat production since it increases milk and meat production.
