From crisis to opportunity: climate change benefits livestock production
in Somalia
Abstract
While the livelihoods of Somalian livestock smallholders are rely
heavily on seasonal climate conditions, little is known of long-term
implications of the changing climate for this nation. Here, we quantify
climate change impacts on pasture 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 models 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 to 20% 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 adaptive farm
management will be required to cope with increased seasonal climate
variability.