Agriculture

The principal occupation in Somalia has traditionally been the raising of livestock.

In the late 1980s, the number of livestock animals was estimated at about 20 million goats, 13.5 million sheep, 6.7 million camels and 5 million cattle.

The principal crops were sugar cane, corn, sorghum, bananas and sesame seed. In 1968, the local canning of meat was introduced.

However, the drought of 1994 resulted in the loss of more than a million livestock. Many of the farmers were encouraged to take up fishing and moved into coastal regions. Somalia's ailing agricultural base is struggling to survive.