"My name is Adan Abdi Osman. I live in Awdinle, a community in Baidoa's district, South West State of Somalia with my wife. I have ten children. Now I have a nice and successful agro-vet shop with good products but it has not been always the case.

For many years, I had a very small shop in a thatched room where I was selling some painkillers and a few animal drugs. I did not have a lot of products to sell and did not know much about animal drugs. I was earning less than $40 per month. This was not enough to sustain my family and to send all my children to school.

Luckily, I have been selected to benefit from training on business development and on veterinary drugs management which was proposed by the Somalia Resilience Program implemented in our community. This has allowed me  to learn a lot on animal drugs and their use, how to store them, but also how to make my business more profitable. It helps me to improve my business and soon I was able to make some savings every day, even 5$ a day. So, after a few months, I have invested more in my pharmacy: around 300$.

In September 2016, the owners of veterinary pharmacies were offered the possibility, thanks to the same project,  to borrow money to invest in their pharmacies. Since I was feeling more comfortable with my business, I was willing to borrow $2000. I have prepared a business plan that I have shared with the committee who manages the fund and was entitled to have access to the money I asked for. I have also been put in touch with animal health workers from the nearby villages : this helped me to get new customers as they now buy drugs from my shop. I think that the fact that I could discuss more with them about the products contributed to the success. We, the pharmacists, were linked as well with big traders for veterinary drugs from Mogadishu. I have since developed good relationship with them, and I am able to purchase large quantities of the vet drugs I want without going to Mogadishu. The linkage has improved the quality of the drugs we sell here. Combined, these actions have increased the volume of my sales. My daily income reached $30 and I started making savings of $12 a day and I was capable of paying back the loan each month.  After five months I had accumulated a total saving of $2800!

At the start of 2019, I have constructed a permanent house for my business. I can now cover the need of my family, afford the education for my children. I appreciate the support. I hope my community will be further supported as there is still gap to be filled for us to be a self-dependent community”

This story is one example of the success stories enabled by the EU investment implemented by the SOMREP consortium in partnership South West State’s authorities. Among others, COOPI’s activities aimed at improving access to quality veterinary drugs in rural areas through support  to private veterinary pharmacies.

FACTS AND FIGURES

Project name: Bay and Lower Shabelle Resilience & Social Protection Programme

Implementing partner(s): Somrep consortium : Worldvision, COOPI, CARE, DRC, HIJRA, GREDO

EU contribution to the project:  EUR 11,500,000 (90% of total budget).

Duration: 3 years 1/2 (2015-2019).

Regions covered by the project: South West State (Baidoa, Afgoye districts)

Expected results of the project:

• 7,169 households improve and diversify their source of incomes
• 7,460 households have their livelihoods and assets protected during climate shocks thanks to better continency planning at community level, increased access to water, establishment of savings and loans associations and the timely creation of short-term jobs opportunities  
• 53 communities better manage their ecosystem and are supported in their rehabilitation efforts such as re-greening, gully control, canals rehabilitation
• In 63 communities, civil society and local institutions are better equipped with resilience strategies and response capacities to cope with recurrent shocks and stressors.

More information:  https://somrep.org/about/