CEREAL CROPS IN SOMALIA

The Geography department is offering a lecture that many in CTAHR may be interested in: Paul Porter, from the University of Minnesota’s Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, will present “Stories from Somalia from the Perspective of an Agronomist” on Thursday, February 22, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. in Saunders 443. Dr. Porter co-founded a Somali-based NGO, the Somali Agricultural Technical Group (SATG), that serves as the central organization for agricultural expertise in the country. SATG has received funding from USAID, FAO, DFID, ICRC, and EU to implement ag-related development projects. This presentation will discuss SATG’s past and present work in the context of important historical and political events that have shaped it. Historical trends in cereal production, imports, and food aid will be related to population growth and changes in cereal yield and cultivated area to better understand Somali food security in the presence of frequent droughts and recurring famine.