The program aims to contribute to household economic prosperity, food diversification and social protection. The strategic intervention areas will revolve around access to social safety nets, enhancing production and facilitating market access.

A livelihood comprises capabilities, assets and activities required for a means of living and are regarded as sustainable when it can cope with and recover from stresses and shocks. Sustainable food security and livelihood strategies help people to meet their immediate and future needs; enhance their dignity and voice; empower them economically, politically, and socially; and develop the localities to which they belong and live. When people can produce, sell, earn, and invest in the future they can shape, influence, contribute to and benefit from civil society and good government as well as be the drivers of change leading to poverty reduction. Some of our strategic interventions are:

• Facilitate access to food and other basic needs to chronically vulnerable groups through cash transfers, food vouchers, relief food and cash for work.

• Agricultural Support for farmers - SADO works with smallholder farmers and provides them with agricultural extension services, equipment, technologies and inputs they need to grow their crops, including seeds, fertilizer and tools. Farmers are also supported with technical assistance in farming practices that are sustainable and socially acceptable. SADO also works with farmers to improve their access to capital, increase market access, and help protect against environmental degradation. Ultimately, the organizations aim to increase food and nutritional security.

• Food security and integrated management of natural resources (FMNR) - SADO works with farmers and herders in order to encourage them to manage their natural resources in a sustainable manner, which includes minimization and use of fertilizers, pesticides, and overgrazing. This is done through awareness raising, capacity building and community empowerment.

• Livestock Support for pastoralists in remote and hostile areas - SADO actively works with nomadic communities, providing training on livestock management and herding skills. Community-based livestock markets are established to link nomads with more stable markets; the organization also works with communities to enable them to access loans and develop the capacity to create micro-credit services. In addition, SADO provides veterinary care and animal health education through community animal health workers.

• Enhancing fishing and poultry farming - Somalia has the longest sea coast and is rich in different types of fishes that has been unexplored. To diversify livelihood sources and income, SADO will strengthen fish and poultry farming. SADO efforts primarily focus on marine aquaculture, which refers to farming species that live in the ocean and estuaries.

• Emergency Response - SADO has a broad range of programs to respond to situations where food insecurity is the primary cause of the crisis. Unconditional cash transfers and Cash for Work are the modalities used to address the immediate needs of people affected by crises, while simultaneously working to develop long-term solutions that will enable communities to emerge from crisis as self-reliant and stable.

• Women‘s Economic Empowerment (WEE) - Women in Somalia are particularly exposed to climate-related calamities such as droughts and floods. These frequently occurring incidents have severe effects on agriculture, which is the backbone of the country‘s economy, especially for rural women farmers, who often lack the expertise and resources required to efficiently manage the effects of climate change. They are also left out of decision-making activities around resource management and resilience activities. SADO works with local women to address these challenges by deliberately involving and empowering women through:

1. Training women on disaster-resilient agricultural techniques, including climate-smart agriculture, sustainable land management, and water conservation. By enhancing efficiency and implementing climate smart agricultural practices, women producers increase their income and economic well-being, while also improving the food availability and security of their communities.
2. Engaging with women-friendly agricultural extension services to provide technical support, information, and guidance to support women’s livelihoods. The facilitation of women-friendly agricultural extension services improves the productivity and income of women farmers in Somalia. By providing women farmers with access to technical support and information that is tailored to their needs, we promote gender equality and improves food security for communities in these contexts.