Structure of agriculture sector in the southern part of Djibouti -A case study of Ali Sabieh Region-

Abstract

The agriculture sector plays an essential role in the country’s economic development, such as food and funds for other sectors. This rule also applies to Djibouti, which locates in arid areas. On the other hand, underdeveloped agriculture can be a hotbed of poverty. Traditionally, self-sufficient pastoral has practiced in Djibouti. Still, the development of conventional pastoralism is no longer possible due to the limitation of natural resources such as grassland and the effects of population growth and climate change. Therefore, the government has promoted nomadic settlement. However, it is difficult to popularize settlement agriculture in Djibouti, where water resources are scarce. However, the number of farmers is steadily increasing. Thus, Djibouti’s agricultural sector is still slowly but steadily developing.

When considering the future development of Djibouti agriculture, clarifying the structure of agricultural will be necessary for policy formulation. Therefore, this study aims to sort out agro-pastoral areas and clarify the current structure of agriculture in the southern part of Djibouti by a case study of Ali Sabieh Region.

As a result, this study clarified Ali Sabieh Region’s structure of agriculture, mainly focusing on agro-pastoral areas. It used to be several farmhouses, have expanded to dozens of farmers, and the number of such areas is also increasing. Farmers have diverse backgrounds, but they manage less water and produce food. Therefore, increasing the number of such farmers may contribute to the improvement of poverty in rural Djibouti and, by extension, to the economic development of Djibouti.