Action Against Hunger, in partnership with Genius Water, Zamzam University and READO, (Rural Education and Agriculture Development Organization) has launched the REACT Project in Baidoa. The initiative — Resilient and Efficient Agroecological Value Chains and Technologies for Water and Food Security of Small Farmers in Somalia — is funded by the Italian Agency for International Development (AICS) and will run through 2028.
The project is crucial as it comes at a time when Somalia is facing another season of heightened food and nutrition risk. Recent analysis of Gu’ and Deyr (the two main rainy seasons in Somalia) point to poor crop performance, rising admissions to nutrition programmes, and continued exposure of rural households to climate shocks. Baidoa, a displacement and agricultural hub, remains at the centre of this vulnerability.
Aligned with the Humanitarian–Development–Peace Nexus and the Somalia National Transition Plan, the project aims to reduce dependence on short-term aid by investing in water security, sustainable food production, and local market systems. In its two years of implementation, farmers will have adequate time to learn and apply new practices across seasons, build institutional skills, and strengthen market linkages over time.
The project will rehabilitate water infrastructure, promote soil and water conservation, establish farmer field schools, supply agricultural inputs, and support women and youth in agroecology and small-scale agribusiness. Additionally, the project will strengthen farmer groups to access buyers and financial services. A distinctive feature of REACT is its localization model: Somali institutions and community farmers are not only participants but co-designers and co-implementers, ensuring that solutions reflect local realities and can be sustained beyond donor funding.
“We are not investing in a temporary fix. REACT is a transition tool embedding water systems, agroecological skills and market access within local structures so that farmers in Baidoa can withstand shocks and progress with dignity,” said Rehema Bashir, Project Lead at Action Against Hunger.
Through this programme, thousands of small farmers in Baidoa will gain the means to produce food more efficiently, protect their land and water resources, and connect to markets in ways that increase income and reduce the drivers of hunger and humanitarian dependency in the region.