US report: The climate crisis is pushing the agricultural sector in Yemen towards collapse

English - Tuesday 06 June 2023 الساعة 06:33 pm
Aden, NewsYemen, exclusive:

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace - based in Washington - published a report through the "Sada" window, analyzing the great damage caused to the agricultural sector in Yemen as a result of the continuation of the absurd war led by the Houthi militia - Iran's arm in Yemen, 9 years ago.

The report indicated that Yemenis working in the agricultural sector constitute the largest segment of the labor force in the country, with 73.5 percent of the population relying - directly or indirectly - on income from agricultural activities related to trade and manufacturing. Agriculture also contributes about 80 percent of Yemen's national income and provides employment for about 54 percent of the labor force across the country.

The report indicated that for nine years, Yemen has been witnessing a civil war, which has caused hundreds of thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions, in addition to creating one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with nearly 21 million people - more than 66 percent of the total population - in need of assistance. humanity and protection. Despite this disastrous situation, many Yemeni farmers are still trying to grow enough crops to be self-sufficient in their homes.

war and climate

Farmers in Yemen face great challenges that cannot be overcome, as the total direct damages and losses to the agricultural sector in Yemen since the beginning of the war amounted to about $111 billion. Yemeni farmers suffer from the high cost of oil derivatives, fertilizers and agricultural pesticides, the decline in seasonal rainfall, and the increase in government taxes and customs on farmers.

The report indicated that climate change and water shortage negatively affect crop production, compared to previous years, which affects the provision of food and increases the scope of famine in the country, and the impact of climate change is exacerbated by the lack of alternative ways to provide food due to the deterioration of the national economy and the closure of most institutions major economic sectors, and suspending public sector salaries in Houthi-controlled areas.

Noting that around 3 out of every 4 Yemenis depend on agriculture to survive, the climate crisis could push the already war-torn agricultural sector to the breaking point, especially with severe droughts continuing and low monsoon rainfall since 2022.

saving the agricultural sector

The report of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace confirmed that supporting agriculture is a solution to prevent the deterioration of living conditions because it contributes to reducing unemployment and poverty and improving people's livelihoods, especially since about 75 percent of Yemenis live in the countryside.

He said: Despite the political division and the absence of a unified state, international organizations working in the country can support the agricultural sector and save farmers from looming poverty by facilitating access to agricultural resources, providing alternative energy sources, using water harvesting systems, and rain-supported expansion.

The report of the American Foundation indicated that the recent rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is reliable in accelerating the armistice negotiations between the warring parties in Yemen - including the issue of land reform in the negotiations as part of the peacebuilding process - this will be critical to mitigate the threats facing Yemeni farmers and improve the quality of life in rural Yemen has increased significantly.

Ultimately, support and interest in the agricultural sector can contribute to economic development, job opportunities and food security.

Confronting desertification.. Coffee instead of qat

The report focused on launching many social initiatives in the past few years to confront the devastating effects of climate change, which added to Yemen's problems and led to a significant decrease in the per capita share of water.

The report dealt with the fact that some Yemeni farmers uprooted the destructive qat plants and replaced them with coffee trees. This initiative comes to confront the scarcity of water, since qat requires large water resources and does not feed anyone. It has been given priority over more necessary plants, and this has exposed Yemeni agricultural lands to many risks, the least of which is desertification.

According to the data of the Central Bureau of Statistics for the year 2012, the cultivation of qat was expanding to cover 6 to 10 thousand hectares of land annually.

While research indicated that "the amount of coffee that Yemen exported to the world at the beginning of the eighteenth century was about 20 thousand tons annually," and today the production of Yemeni coffee has decreased significantly as a result of the spread of qat cultivation, which is consumed on a very large scale, and generates huge financial revenues. for farmers.

The khat plant consumes nearly half of the groundwater resources, which could be used to grow more important crops.

According to the General Directorate of Forests and Desertification; Almost 97 percent of Yemen's agricultural land is now threatened by increasing desertification, which currently accounts for about 90 percent of the country's agricultural area.

The area of qat cultivation has increased in recent decades at the expense of coffee cultivation, which decreased by 415 hectares. According to a report by (Green Dream), the size of coffee farms shrank from 33,959 thousand hectares in 2015 to about 33,544 thousand hectares in late 2017.

Moreover, according to data from the Central Statistical Organization, coffee production decreased by 490 tons per year, with the country producing 19,257 tons in 2015 before that figure dropped to 18,856 tons in 2017.

 Many farmers in Taiz governorate have uprooted qat trees and replaced them with coffee bushes in response to a government initiative that aims to plant one million coffee trees by 2025 in Taiz and surrounding areas, with promising results seen.