The Somali sheep, Somali language: Ido Soomaali occasionally known as the Berbera Blackhead, is a hair sheep native to Djibouti, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. [1] [2]
The Somali sheep, Somali language: Ido Soomaali occasionally known as the Berbera Blackhead, is a hair sheep native to Djibouti, Somaliland, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. [1] [2]
The Somali sheep is the direct forebear of the Blackhead Persian, the latter of which was bred in South Africa between the late 19th century to early 20th century and has been extensively used for crossbreeding in many tropical areas. [1]
The Somali sheep is white with a black head. It belongs to the fat-tail type, and both of the breed's genders are polled. [1] [3] The animal is mainly reared for meat production, [1] and is a major export of the Somali economy, particularly to the Arabian Peninsula, with Burao and Yirowe in central Somaliland being home to the largest livestock markets in the Horn of Africa, with as many as 10,000 heads of sheep and goats sold daily, many of whom shipped to Gulf states via the port of Berbera. [4] [5] The market handles livestock from all over the Horn of Africa. [6] [7]
Somalia is classified by the United Nations as a least developed country, with the majority of its population being dependent on agriculture and livestock for their livelihood. The economy of Somalia is $49.918 billion by gross domestic product as of 2020. For 1994, the CIA estimated it at purchasing power parity to be approximately $30.3 billion. In 2001, it was estimated to be $4.1 billion. By 2009, the CIA estimated that it had grown to $75.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6%. In 2014, the International Monetary Fund estimated economic activity to have expanded by 3.7% primarily. This expansion was driven by growth in the primary sector and the secondary sector. According to a 2007 British Chambers of Commerce report, the private sector has experienced growth, particularly in the service sector. Unlike the pre-civil war period, when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities. The investment has been largely financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels.
Somaliland, officially the Republic of Somaliland, is a de facto sovereign state in the Horn of Africa, still considered internationally to be part of Somalia. Somaliland lies in the Horn of Africa, on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden. It is bordered by Djibouti to the northwest, Ethiopia to the south and west, and Somalia to the east. Its claimed territory has an area of 176,120 square kilometres (68,000 sq mi), with approximately 5.7 million residents as of 2021. The capital and largest city is Hargeisa. The government of Somaliland regards itself as the successor state to British Somaliland, which, as the briefly independent State of Somaliland, united in 1960 with the Trust Territory of Somaliland to form the Somali Republic.
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa. Located on the easternmost part of the African mainland, it is the fourth largest peninsula in the world. It is composed of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Djibouti; broader definitions also include parts or all of Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. The term Greater Horn Region (GHR) can additionally include Burundi, Rwanda, and Tanzania. It lies along the southern boundary of the Red Sea and extends hundreds of kilometres into the Guardafui Channel, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean and shares a maritime border with the Arabian Peninsula of Western Asia.
Sanag is an administrative region (gobol) in north eastern Somaliland. Sanaag has a long coastline facing the Gulf of Aden to the north, and is bordered by the region of Sahil to the west, Sool to the south and Somalia to the east. The region is disputed by the self-declared Republic of Somaliland and Puntland, a Federal Member State of Somalia. Its capital city is Erigavo. Sanaag is the largest region of Somaliland, accounting for 35% of Somaliland's total land area.
Berbera is the capital of the Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of the British Somaliland protectorate before Hargeisa. It also served as a major port of the Ifat, Adal and Isaaq sultanates from the 13th to 19th centuries.
Burao, also spelt Bur'o or Bur'ao is the capital of the Togdheer region and the second largest city in Somaliland. Burao was also the third largest city of Somalia. Burao was the site of the declaration of an independent Somaliland on 18 May 1991.
The Isaaq is a Somali clan. It is one of the major Somali clans in the Horn of Africa, with a large and densely populated traditional territory.
The history of Somaliland, a country in the eastern Horn of Africa bordered by the Gulf of Aden, and the East African land mass, begins with human habitation tens of thousands of years ago. It includes the civilizations of Punt, the Ottomans, and colonial influences from Europe and the Middle East.
Foreign relations of the Republic of Somaliland are the responsibility of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Somaliland. The region's self-declaration of independence remains unrecognised by the international community.
The Economy of Somaliland largely relies on primary production and agriculture, where livestock is the main export of the country, which it ships to neighbouring Djibouti and Ethiopia, as well as to Gulf states, such as UAE, Saudi Arabia and Oman. Somaliland has a gross domestic product (GDP) of about US$7.2 billion as of 2022, most of which it receives in remittances from Somalis working abroad. The COVID-19 pandemic has restricted Somaliland's trade flows with decreased demand in the agriculture sector, a significant source of tax revenue. The country's GDP per capita is approximately US$1530 which is one of the lowest in the world.
The Dorper is a South African breed of domestic sheep developed by crossing Dorset Horn and the Blackhead Persian sheep. The breed was created through the efforts of the South African Department of Agriculture to breed a meat sheep suitable to the more arid regions of the country. It is now farmed in other areas as well, and is the second most common sheep breed in South Africa.
The Dorset Horn is an endangered British breed of domestic sheep. It is documented from the seventeenth century, and is highly prolific, sometimes producing two lambing seasons per year. Among British sheep, it is the only breed capable of breeding throughout the winter.
The Blackhead Persian is a fat-tailed breed of domestic sheep from Africa. The sheep is originally from Somalia and a direct descendant of the Somali sheep. The breed is also a type of hair sheep, meaning they do not grow wool and tolerate heat better than wooled breeds and are raised primarily for meat. The Blackhead Persian has a white body and, as their name would suggest, an entirely black head.
Heis is a historic coastal town located in the Sanaag region of Somaliland. The town was important for trade and communication with the Somali interior and was used to export frankincense to Arabia.
Burao District is a district of the Togdheer region in central Somaliland. Its capital lies at Burao.
Agriculture in Somalia is a major employment activity and is the largest economic sector in the country. It contributes more than 65% to the national GDP from domestic distribution and exports to other parts of the continent, the Middle East and Europe.
Dhambalin is an archaeological site in the central Sahil province of Somaliland. The sandstone rock shelter contains rock art depicting various animals such as horned cattle and goats, as well as giraffes, an animal no longer found in the country. The site also features the earliest known pictures of sheep in Somaliland. Discovered in autumn 2007, residents of Beenyo Dhaadheer reported the rock art to the Somali archaeologist Sada Mire, Director of the Department of Archaeology within the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Somaliland.
The Issa Musa or ‘Isa Musa is a northern Somali clan. Its members form a part of the Habr Awal clan of the Isaaq clan family. The Isa Musa are divided into four major sub-clans: Mohammed Issa, Adam Issa, Abokor Issa and Idarais Issa. The Isa Musa traditionally consists of coastal people, nomadic pastoralist and merchants. This clan are primarily settled in Somaliland, including Maroodi Jeex, Togdheer, Sahil, Ethiopia, as well as Kenya. The Issa Musse have produced many prominent Somali figures with the Undersecretary General of the United Nations Abdulrahim Abby Farah, the first Somali Prime Minister & second President of Somaliland Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal,current Ctrack Middle East Sales Manager Abdul Wahab Jama Abdi and the second tallest man in the world Hussein Bisad.
The Isaaq Sultanate was a Somali kingdom that ruled parts of the Horn of Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries. It spanned the territories of the Isaaq clan in modern-day Somaliland and Ethiopia. The sultanate was governed by the Rer Guled branch of the Eidagale clan and is the pre-colonial predecessor to the modern Republic of Somaliland.
Yirowe, also spelt Yerrowa, Yerowa, Yeroweh or Yerowah is a town in the Burao District, located in the Togdheer region of Somaliland. The town is located 20 km east of Burao, the provincial capital of the Togdheer region.
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