Seed, fodder, meat, dairy and poultry in Somalia

Where Xidig members may contribute

These are service and skills opportunities: plausible needs, not confirmed contracts or jobs.

• Skills: veterinary and animal-health services, fodder agronomy and hay and silage making, seed multiplication, meat inspection and hygiene, dairy processing and quality testing, poultry husbandry and biosecurity.
• Service: food-safety and export-certification advice, cold-chain equipment servicing, business planning for small processors, and agricultural finance, including Islamic-finance products.
• Collaboration: producer groups and cooperatives around fodder or milk collection.

Possible services, research, supplier or collaboration roles

• Feed and fodder supply during dry seasons. Validate demand with buyers first.
• Hygiene and quality training for slaughter, dairy and poultry operations.
• Research on milk collection, losses and prices in peri-urban areas, where the ministry notes that "the sale of raw milk is already a very important economic activity".
• Links between seed companies and farmer groups under the new seed law.

Who may find this useful

• Pastoralists, farmers and traders.
• Veterinarians, animal scientists and agronomists.
• Food technologists and quality specialists, including diaspora professionals.
• Small processors and retailers.
• Students in agriculture and veterinary science.

Livestock, feed, seed and dairy today

Livestock is the backbone of exports.

• SNBS figures: livestock exports fell from US$950.93 million in 2024 to US$922.91 million in 2025 (SNBS GDP 2025 tables), with the drop attributed to "the effects of the drought". The quarterly bulletin for late 2024 showed livestock exports up 54% on a year earlier.
• Share of exports: the World Bank has described livestock as "the largest export (75–78 percent of total exports by value)".
• Central Bank figures: Ecofin (October 2025) cites data showing export revenue rising "from $311 million in 2018 to $970 million in 2024". That is the pre-revision figure.

Feed and drought.

• Shortage: FAO reports "an overall national shortage of 34 percent of dry matter" for animal feed (October 2025). It says half of a US$70M portfolio goes directly to fodder value-chain development.
• Drought losses: during the 2021–22 drought, "around 3 million livestock have died" (FAO, June 2022).

Seed.

• Law: a Seed and Plant Varieties Law was signed on 24 December 2024.
• Coverage: a 2025 country report on the Ministry of Agriculture's site, citing a 2023 study, says certified seed "meets a small percentage of the national seed requirement: 6% for maize, 4% for sorghum, and 22% for cowpea". It counts 18 seed companies by January 2025.

Dairy.

• Output: milk output reached "1.1 million tons in 2013", with camel milk dominant (World Bank, 2018). FAO lists Somalia as the world's second-largest camel milk producer.
• Constraints: the World Bank notes "lack of processes to preserve milk" and that "Somalia imports dairy products while exporting none".

Meat processing.

• Existing plants: the Ministry of Livestock's 2019 strategy notes that the Mogadishu plant SoMeat "has two modern slaughterhouses and exports frozen cattle carcasses to Oman".
• Scale: the World Bank describes commercial meat processing as "limited to very small quantities of chilled goat and beef meat for export".
• Trade shocks: past Saudi Arabian import bans, the latest imposed in September 2016 and lifted in July 2018, show how exposed live-animal trade is to health certification.

Poultry. The World Bank noted in 2018 that imports of day-old chicks and eggs "are still limited but growing steadily". Xidig found no authoritative current data on egg or poultry supply in Mogadishu.

Programmes already under way (separately from the government's proposals).

• World Bank Food Systems Resilience Project: US$150M plus US$30M additional financing approved in June 2025. It covers "red meat, dairy, and fodder" value chains.
• IFAD rural livelihoods programme: 2023–2031.
• "Kobciye": an Islamic-finance product for livestock businesses launched by IBS Bank in Mogadishu in May 2026, at an event attended by government officials and development partners (Dawan Africa).

Geographic context

Only the poultry proposal names a place (Mogadishu). The seed, fodder, meat and dairy sheets give no location, so no map is included. Existing facilities mentioned in other sources include SoMeat in Mogadishu, plants near Hargeisa and Galkayo, and the Burao slaughterhouse (FAO, 2013). Livestock export ports have historically included Berbera and Bosaso (Ministry of Livestock strategy, 2019).

Dependencies and implementation constraints

• Rain and feed: drought cuts herd numbers and exports, as the 2025 SNBS figures show.
• Animal-health certification: needed for export markets.
• Cold chain and power: essential for dairy and meat. See Solar power and battery storage in Somalia and Why electricity costs so much in Somalia for electricity costs.
• Seed regulation: the 2024 law needs implementing rules and certification capacity.
• Finance: none is named. All five sheets tick "Private".

Risks and unknowns

• Unsourced figures: 144 jobs, 218 jobs and US$1.13M of GDP contribution (see More about the source).
• Missing detail: locations, capacities and business models are absent from four sheets.
• Copy error: the meat-processing sheet's header (p.17; see More about the source).
• Private sponsor: the poultry sheet names a company. Xidig has not verified it and does not endorse it.

Questions members should verify before acting

1. Where would the fodder, seed, meat and dairy facilities be located, and at what capacity?
2. How do these proposals relate to the World Bank's Food Systems Resilience Project and FAO's fodder programme?
3. What certification would meat or dairy exports need, and who issues it?
4. Is any of the five proposals looking for partners now? Check with the named ministry, not third parties.
5. For the poultry project: has the sponsor completed a feasibility study?

What is confirmed, and what isn't

Confirmed

• The five proposals, their printed costs and status.
• SNBS livestock export figures for 2024–2025.
• The FAO feed-shortage and drought-loss figures.
• The 2024 seed law and certified-seed coverage.
• The Food Systems Resilience Project.

Our interpretation

• Feed, animal health, food safety and cold chain are the most useful member roles.
• The five proposals are small relative to the sector.

Not yet verified

• Job and GDP figures.
• Sites and capacities.
• The poultry sponsor's plans.
• Current poultry and egg import data.
• Current status of export abattoirs.

Relevant next steps

• Follow the Ministries of Livestock and Agriculture and the World Bank and FAO programme pages.
• Veterinary and food-safety professionals: consider how to support certification capacity.
• Share local knowledge of fodder, milk or poultry markets through Xidig.