Hailah: 50 years of Love for Grape Farming

From her home window in Bani Hushaish, Hailah, 60, watches her vineyard grow. For over 50 years, she has used many of the practices she learned from her ancestors. Just like her parents before her, Hailah plans to leave her farm to her children so that they can carry on the tradition and profit from their hard work. Even though Hailah has been growing many types of grape for many years, she saw a dramatic decline in their quality last year due to heavy rainfall, aphids, fruit flies, and mildew. By the end of the season, she and her family did not earn a profit because of a lack of sales, an increase in the cost of diesel, and the constant need to spray the plants to ward off pests. Funded and supported by the World Bank’s International Development Association, the Yemen Emergency Crisis Response Project (YECRP) is implemented by the Social Fund for Development (SFD) and the Public Works Project (PWP) in partnership with UNDP Yemen. The US$ 411 million project provides economic stimuli in the form of large cash-for-work projects, support to small businesses, and labour-intensive repairs of socio-economic assets, benefiting vulnerable local households and communities across Yemen.