Production

The two rivers of Shabelle and Juba support Somalia’s main agricultural areas by providing year round irrigation water from the Ethiopian highlands to the fertile soils along the banks of these rivers. In this Region, the Somali banana industry flourished and became the largest exporter in East Africa with approximately 12,000 ha under cultivation and employing close to 120,000 people. According to the Somali Banana National Board, 12 million cartons of 12.5kg net was the maximum number of cartons recorded in the history of Somalia banana in 1971/72. The annual gross production of bananas in Somalia is estimated at 40,000 tons (about 3 million boxes) from the cultivation of 1,600 ha. This volume supplies the local market year-round and does have the productivity and profit potential related to exports.