Baidoa (Baydhabo) is the capital of the Bay region and the largest city of South West State, whose administration has long been based here. It lies at the heart of the fertile land between the Jubba and Shabelle rivers, a farming region famous for its sorghum.

The city is a major market for the farmers and herders of Bay and Bakool, with natural spots such as Isha Baydhabo on its doorstep.

Baidoa has long been a trading town of the interior; a photograph from 1927 already shows a bustling market. In February 2006 Somalia's transitional federal parliament held its first session on Somali soil here, and the transitional government operated from the city for a time.

In 2014 delegates meeting in Baidoa adopted the interim constitution of South West State, which named Barawa as the state capital. The novelist Nuruddin Farah was born in Baidoa in 1945.

Baidoa is the heartland of the Maay language, widely spoken across Bay and Bakool. Farming and herding traditions shape the city's markets, food and celebrations.

Baidoa is the main sorghum market of southern Somalia's "sorghum belt" and an important livestock market, with trade and services growing as the city expands.