Leaving no one behind in Yemen: Steps towards better production, nutrition, environment and life

By Dr Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative for Yemen

As we mark World Food Day 2022, Yemen remains one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world and continues to grapple with extreme hunger. The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) figures show that nearly 17 million people in Yemen (53 percent of the population) are in crisis (IPC 3+), including 6.1 million in emergency conditions (IPC 4). While the figures released early this month (IPC analysis October – December 2022), show a slight improvement on the 19 million that had been projected in the previous analysis, the food security situation in Yemen remains precarious.

The slight improvement is due to positive mitigating drivers, including the six-month truce, above normal rainfall and increased humanitarian assistance to the food sectors, albeit overwhelmingly to food assistance. While the assistance has not changed the conditions of food insecure people, it has rather contained the food insecurity situation in the country, where we still have disconcerting figures. For example, acute malnutrition stalks up to 2.2 million children under the age of five, including nearly half a million in severe acute malnutrition, and about 1.3 million pregnant and lactating women.

The impacts of the conflict in Yemen on the livelihoods of agriculture-dependent communities, livestock keepers and fishers cannot be overstated. Disruptions of global food systems caused by COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine are felt in Yemen as the country imports 85 percent of its food requirements. Moreover, Yemen imports 90 percent of its wheat requirements, including 42 percent from the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

The agriculture sector remains vital to the livelihoods and food security of the most vulnerable populations in Yemen. Seventy-three percent of the rural population relies on agriculture for their livelihoods and 87 percent of rural women engage in agricultural production and/or livestock keeping activities. The sector meets 15–20 percent of the country’s food needs and represents approximately 13 percent of the gross domestic product. While Yemen is heavily reliant on imports for its wheat requirements, the country is self-sufficient in other cereals such as sorghum and millet. The same can also be said about vegetables, which play a central role in improving nutrition and promoting healthy lives.

These figures illustrate the centrality of agriculture in Yemen and the importance of investing in rural livelihoods. Investing in rural livelihoods is not only a long-term investment in recovery, but also a sustainable humanitarian response to enable the affected communities to improve their food security and avoid reliance on food assistance.

FAO has worked tenaciously to rebuild and restore agricultural productivity and create livelihood opportunities in the face of ever-increasing food and nutrition insecurity in the country.

In Yemen, FAO is implementing cash-based transfers for the rehabilitation of on-farm and community-level rural infrastructure and plantations. In addition, there are projects strengthen the role of women in water conflict resolution and climate change mitigation. FAO provides agricultural inputs to increase crop production.

Livestock protection and productivity has also been enhanced through re-stocking and improved animal health and production. Additionally, FAO supports coffee value chains, livestock fattening, farmer field schools and irrigation systems to increase targeted communities’ production, productivity, food consumption, nutrition, income and employment opportunities.

In this regard, we work with farmers, livestock keepers, fishers, and all other actors across the food supply chain who play part in feeding their communities. We work to reduce malnutrition and food insecurity in Yemen through efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems.

We work with all to leave no one behind.

On World Food Day, I would like to applaud the work of farmers, pastoralists, agro-pastoralists and fishers in Yemen. They are the heroes in the fight against hunger and malnutrition, and to them I would like to say: World Food Day is your day and we are proud to join you in celebrating this important day.

Happy World Food Day