Somalia's post-conflict banana harvest revival

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Somalia's post-conflict banana harvest revival

Al Jazeera, 15 Jul 2015

URL: http://goo.gl/cgvNjQ
Afgoye, Somalia - Early morning showers fade into the distance as thick rain clouds give way to the piercing rays of a tropical sun, revealing wet, dark brown fertile soil. About 30 people emerge from the shades of full grown mango trees, woven baskets made of dried banana leaves in one hand and a sharp Panga - a machete - in the other.

They are farmers attending to a large banana plantation in Somalia's farming capital of Afgoye, a riverside town some 30km south of the country's seaside capital Mogadishu.

Holding a measuring ruler in his hand, Ahmedey Abduqadir leads the group of mainly female farmers through the muddy canals that snake through the plantation, to the far end of the farm where the fruit of the right size and shape are to be harvested.

He takes his time placing the ruler on selected fruit in the bunch of low hanging bananas, checking that they are of the right size before chopping them off and placing them in the baskets to be transported to a waiting vehicle.