Growing Hope Along the Shabelle 

The Humanitarian-Development-Peace (HDP) Nexus Project is one of the initiatives under the Agricultural Commercialization through Climate-Smart and Inclusive Innovations (ACCII) programme, implemented with financial support from the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA). Running from 2025 to 2029, the project brings together humanitarian assistance, development, conflict transformation and peacebuilding to help conflict-affected communities recover, rebuild their livelihoods and become more self-reliant. 

At its core, the project is about helping people move beyond emergency assistance and build more secure and sustainable livelihoods. It supports Internally Displaced People (IDPs), refugees and host communities to increase agricultural production, access markets, develop businesses and strengthen household incomes, while also promoting peaceful coexistence and more resilient local economies. 

The project aims to reach 300,000 people through interventions focused on crop and livestock commercialization, natural resource management, agribusiness development and digital agriculture. It is being implemented across 12 districts in the Somali Region and one neighbouring district in the Oromia Region. 

The early results are encouraging. In the Somali Region alone, more than 90,000 IDPs and refugees have so far benefited from and participated in different development interventions. The interventions are being implemented  through three key implementing institutions: the Somali Development Association, which has reached about 58,000 people; the Somali Agricultural Transformation Centre (SoATC), which has supported around 21,000; and the Somali Regional Livestock Research and Agricultural Institute (RLARI), which has reached approximately 12,000 people. 

But the impact goes beyond these numbers. The project is helping conflict-affected communities move from dependence on emergency assistance toward greater self-reliance. By connecting livelihood recovery with agricultural development, market opportunities and peacebuilding, the HDP Nexus Project is helping families rebuild their economic foundations and create a more peaceful and resilient future. 

One example can be seen along the fertile banks of the Shabelle River, where farmers in Debaldeg Kebele are rebuilding their livelihoods after displacement. Established in February 2026 with support from the HDP Program, the Onion Cluster brings together members of IDP and host communities who are turning irrigated land into a productive source of income. 

Their experience shows what can happen when people have access to productive land, the right agricultural support and an opportunity to work together. 

 From Idle Land to Opportunity 

In Berano kebele of the Somali region, the HDP project supported IDP and host-community households to establish onion production on 25 hectares of irrigated land along the Shabelle River. The intervention provided a comprehensive package of support, including quality seed, improved agricultural technologies, extension packages, as well as mindset and technical training to strengthen farmers’ capacity for productive and market-oriented farming. 

With this support, participating households turned previously underutilized land into a source of food and income. Organized into a Farmer Production Cluster, they worked together to cultivate onions, improve their farming practices and create better economic opportunities for their families. 

For many IDP and host-community members, who had previously faced limited livelihood opportunities, the intervention offered a practical pathway toward household economic recovery, greater self-reliance and more dignified livelihoods. 

Breaking the Cycle of Dependency 

Before joining the programme, many cluster members largely depended on food assistance. Low and unstable incomes, limited access to agricultural inputs, inadequate productive assets and insufficient technical skills made it difficult for households to invest in productive activities or build sustainable sources of income. 

The HDP-supported Farmer Production Cluster is helping to change that reality.By working collectively, farmers have been able to improve their production practices and strengthen their access to markets. The cluster harvested 1,625 quintals of onions, which were sold at an average price of ETB 7,000 per quintal. 

The farmers also took an important step to improve their returns. Instead of relying only on local markets, they transported their produce to Gode City, where they found stronger demand and achieved better returns. 

For the farmers, this was more than a successful harvest. It was evidence that with the right support, organization and market connections, agricultural production can become a reliable pathway out of dependency. 

 From One Harvest to the Next: How Clustered Production Is Transforming Lives in Dabaldag 

The experience with onions is now being reinforced through maize production. 

In Dabaldag Kebele, along the Shabelle River, seven Farmer Production Clusters (FPCs) established through the HDP-supported crop commercialization initiative brought together IDP and host-community households to cultivate 95 hectares of irrigated maize. 

The clusters received quality seed, improved agronomic practices, irrigation and hands-on technical support. Together, they harvested 2,755 quintals of maize and generated an estimated ETB 19.28 million. 

The harvest has provided participating households with an important source of food and income, while demonstrating the potential of organized, market-oriented production to strengthen household self-reliance. 

The achievements of the maize clusters, building on the success of onion production in the same area, demonstrate the practical impact of ATI’s HDP programme in helping communities move from dependence on food assistance toward sustainable livelihoods. 

The change is happening through a combination of clustered production, improved technologies, technical support, collective action and stronger market linkages. For IDP and host-community households, these opportunities are helping them become productive and increasingly self-reliant farmers. 

The journey does not end with one successful harvest. The longer-term ambition is to help these farmers gradually transition from production clusters into commercial clusters and, ultimately, agribusiness companies. 

For communities that have experienced displacement and disruption, this represents an important shift—from receiving assistance to creating opportunities, from dependence to self-reliance, and from uncertainty to a more secure economic future.