Harvesting Hope in Neboi, Mandera, Abdifatah’s story of transformation and resilience.
Abdifatah Mohamed Sheikh, a farmer from Neboi, Mandera East, proudly holds fresh vegetables from his farm, ready for both family use and sale in the local market.
This story stands as a testament to RACIDA’s recognition once again as a nominee for the 2025 NGOs Hub Awards – Best in Agriculture NGO after winning the same in 2024.
It reflects the real impact of empowering communities through climate-smart farming, sustainable livelihoods, and resilience-building across the Horn of Africa.
In Neboi, Mandera East, this transformation comes to life in the story of Abdifatah Mohamed Sheikh, a devoted father of four whose journey from dry, unproductive land to thriving green fields mirrors the true essence of resilience and renewal.
For years, Abdifatah and his neighbors struggled against the harsh effects of drought and unreliable rainfall. Farming felt like a gamble crops rarely reached maturity, and families often depended on relief food to survive. “We planted with hope,” Abdifatah recalls, “but most times, the land gave us nothing back.”
That changed when the HANAANO Project, implemented by RACIDA in partnership with Concern Worldwide and funded by IrishAid, reached Neboi through the Natural Resource Management (NRM) grant. The farmers’ group received grant of 900,000 and bought water gen pumps (Genga fa). RACIDA also provided the farmers with farm tools and hands-on irrigation training, allowing them to make the most of the nearby Daua River and sustain their crops even through dry spells.
Today, the once-barren fields of Neboi are bursting with onions, watermelons, fodder, maize, sorghum, and cowpeas. Abdifatah and his fellow farmers are now harvesting everything they planted, selling part of their produce in local Mandera markets and across the border into Ethiopia, while keeping some to feed their families.
“This season, we are harvesting all that we planted,” Abdifatah says proudly. “We sell part of our produce in the market and keep some for our families.”
This success has gone beyond the farms, it has restored dignity, improved household nutrition, and strengthened community bonds. Families can now plan for the future, send their children to school, and rely on their own hard work rather than food aid.
The story of Abdifatah and the Neboi farmers embodies why RACIDA continues to champion local solutions that build resilience and prosperity across the region.
We celebrate our farmers, partners, and dedicated teams in the field who make this transformation possible every day.
About the Hanaano Programme
The Hanaano Programme — meaning “nurture” is a three-year, cross-border initiative funded by IrishAid and implemented by Concern Worldwide together with RACIDA in Kenya, Life Line Gedo in Somalia and Pastoralist Concern in Ethiopia. It operates across the Mandera Triangle spanning Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia and works to prevent child wasting by tackling its root causes.
The programme uses an integrated approach:
Promoting nutrition-sensitive agriculture, livelihoods and natural resource management. Encouraging improved health, hygiene and care practices within households. Strengthening community-led action, evidence-based learning and regional collaboration to build long-term resilience.
By combining livelihood support with nutrition, WASH and resource-management interventions in fragile borderland contexts, Hanaano helps communities move from coping to sustaining which is exactly what the Neboi farmers’ story exemplifies.
