# Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation of Somalia: what it does

> What Somalia's federal agriculture ministry does: irrigation, seeds, pests, food security and farm investment; who leads it; its budget 2025 to 2027; the projects that fund it; and what it reports doing in 2026.

Source page: https://calankii.com/en/institutions/ministry-of-agriculture/
Last checked: 2026-11-12
Publisher: Calankii (https://calankii.com)

## What it does

The ministry says its "overarching mandate" is "to address food insecurity, food systems transformative agenda, and end malnutrition and hunger in Somalia" ([Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, About](https://moa.gov.so/about/)). The tasks it lists include (same source):

- rebuilding and running irrigation canals and flood defences, mostly along the [Shabelle](/en/economy/farming-and-harvests/) and Juba rivers;
- controlling crop pests and diseases, including desert locusts;
- checking the quality of seeds, fertiliser and farm produce;
- improved seed systems, with drought- and pest-resistant varieties;
- keeping an Agricultural Information Management System of farm data;
- bringing in new farm machines and methods.

Under it sits a small regulator, the **Somali Agricultural Regulatory and Inspection Service**, which has its own budget line of US$36,000 ([Appropriation Act for 2027, as submitted](https://mof.gov.so/storage/documents/2026/11/xihvtskp/Appropriation%20Act%20for%202027%20Submitted%20to%20Parlement.pdf)).

## Who leads it

Mohamed Abdi Hayir, known as Maareeye, is minister. The Director General is Eng. Mohamed Hassan Abdulle ([NAFIS 2026 communiqué, Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, 17 August 2026](https://moa.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NAFIS-2026-Communique-Final-17Aug.pdf)).

## The money

From the federal budget ([Appropriation Act for 2027, as submitted](https://mof.gov.so/storage/documents/2026/11/xihvtskp/Appropriation%20Act%20for%202027%20Submitted%20to%20Parlement.pdf)):

| Line | 2025 actual (US$) | 2026 budget (US$) | 2027 proposed (US$) |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation | 45,517,365 | 63,147,963 | 59,777,067 |
| Agricultural Regulatory and Inspection Service | none | 36,000 | 36,000 |

Almost all of this is donor project money passed through the budget. The largest is the World Bank's **Somalia Food Systems Resilience Project** (US$40.0 million in 2025, US$54.7 million budgeted for 2026, US$48.7 million proposed for 2027). The **Rural Livelihoods Resilience Programme**, funded through IFAD and the UN, is budgeted at US$9.1 million for 2027 (same source).

## What it reports doing

- **New headquarters:** the ministry opened a new head office in Mogadishu on 29 June 2026, built under the World Bank's food systems project at an estimated US$1.4 million ([Dawan Africa, 29 June 2026](https://www.dawan.africa/news/somalia-agriculture-ministry-to-open-dollar14-million-headquarters-in-mogadishu)).
- **Investment summit:** on 11 and 12 August 2026 it held the second National Agri-Food Investment Summit (NAFIS 2026) in Mogadishu, with more than 400 participants. The Prime Minister told the summit that Somalia spent more than US$2.2 billion on food imports in 2025. The ministry's communiqué says Somalia has an estimated 8.9 million hectares of cultivable land and three major river systems, "yet only a small fraction" is in commercial use ([NAFIS 2026 communiqué](https://moa.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NAFIS-2026-Communique-Final-17Aug.pdf)).
- **[Afgooye](/en/regions/lower-shabelle/) irrigation:** in 2026 the minister visited farms in Afgooye during a water shortage and promised action to improve irrigation ([SONNA](https://sonna.so/en/minister-of-agriculture-inspects-farms-in-afgooye-district/); [Radio Dalsan](https://radiodalsan.com/news/301102/somali-agriculture-ministry-pledges-action-to-improve-irrigation-and-boost-crop-production-in-afgooye)).
- **Partners:** the ministry names the IFAD-funded Rural Livelihoods Resilience Programme, the World Bank food systems project, FAO and WFP as its main partners ([NAFIS 2026 communiqué](https://moa.gov.so/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/NAFIS-2026-Communique-Final-17Aug.pdf)).
- **Monthly reports:** it publishes a monthly newsletter of its work ([Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, newsletters](https://moa.gov.so/newslettermoai-monthly/)).

## Other records on farming

FAO's Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit ([FSNAU](/en/institutions/fao-somalia/)) and its water and land unit (SWALIM) publish independent data on harvests, rain and river levels. For rain records, see [Gu and Deyr rains, 1950 to 2023](/en/data/gu-and-deyr-rains-1950-2023/) and [Rain by region](/en/data/rain-by-region-1991-2023/).

## How the work is shared

Each member state has its own ministry of agriculture; [Puntland](/en/states/puntland/) and [Somaliland](/en/states/somaliland-1991-to-2026/) run their own. Livestock and forestry are a separate federal ministry, the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range.

## Its legal basis

The ministry's mandate from the Council of Ministers under the 2012 Provisional Constitution, as amended in 2024 and 2026.

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