Farmers in Yemen’s northern governorate of Saada have been hit hard by recent fighting between Yemeni government forces and Houthi-led Shia rebels, according to farmers and officials.
About 60 percent of Saada farmland was abandoned, looted or damaged during fighting in 2008, according to Mohamed al-Emad, head of Saada local council, “but during the 2009 clashes, which were fiercer and more widespread and continued for a longer time, the figure may be even higher," he said.
He said over 140,000 people in Saada depend on pomegranate and peach cultivation. “Their livelihoods are in jeopardy as they couldn't make money during the last harvest, which coincided with the clashes."
Many who fled had a nasty surprise when they came back to check up on their land.
"We fled our home in mid-August [2009] - two months before our maize crop was ready for harvest. When my father visited the farm in early March [2010], he found that it is good only for animal fodder," Yahya Ali al-Qadhi, 27, from Razih District in the south of the governorate, told IRIN.
Yahya and seven members of his family have been living in a tent in the Khaiwan area of neighbouring Amran Governorate.
"The farm had been our main source of livelihood for years. It used to give us three tons of maize a year. We used to eat half a ton… and sell the rest to cover other needs," Yahya said.
Yahya’s family is intending to return home but they are worried about how they will cope. "If we return…, we need an income until the next harvest," he said.
Rotting fruit
Khalid Abdullah al-Jabri, head of the Agriculture and Irrigation Office in Saada, told IRIN all Saada farmers had been affected by the fighting.
"Tens of thousands of farmers fled, leaving behind half-matured crops. Those who stayed… couldn't get their produce to market," he said.
Pomegranates, grapes and apples were on the point of rotting, he said, adding that many had no option but to bring them to the Saada camps for internally displaced persons.
Al-Jabri said 70 percent of Saada's population (estimated at 795,000 by the government's Central Statistical Organization) relied on farming for a living.
Fuel, water shortages
Furthermore, those who stayed, particularly in the southern and western parts of Saada, found it difficult to water to their crops because of the high price of diesel needed to operate pumps from artesian wells.
"The price of diesel jumped from YR35 [17 US cents] to YR150 [73 cents] per litre, resulting in much higher prices for pumped water," Saad al-Sayyaghi, a pomegranate farmer from Saada's Sehar District, told IRIN.
"Pomegranate farmers stopped watering their crops after the price of pumped water per hour rose from YR1,500 [$7.34] to YR4,000 [$20]," he said. Many petrol stations closed and trucks could not enter the governorate during the clashes (August 2009 to February 2010).
Farmers need help
Displaced farmers need all the help they can get, according to Ismail Moharram, head of the Agricultural Research and Guidance Authority, based in Dhamar Province, central Yemen.
"If they have some food to eat and some money to cover the cost of farming until the harvest, displaced farmers will think about coming home and cultivating their land," he said.
According to Muharram, the government is planning to give Saada farmers tractors at half price, and favourable loans so they can purchase them gradually by installments.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in a December 2009 report that farmers needed critical emergency seed support.
It said that an estimated two million people, including conflict-affected communities, refugees, and other vulnerable persons are likely to face increased food insecurity and will require targeted food assistance, estimated at about 100,000 tons during 2010.
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About 60 percent of Saada farmland was abandoned, looted or damaged during fighting in 2008, according to Mohamed al-Emad, head of Saada local council, “but during the 2009 clashes, which were fiercer and more widespread and continued for a longer time, the figure may be even higher," he said.
He said over 140,000 people in Saada depend on pomegranate and peach cultivation. “Their livelihoods are in jeopardy as they couldn't make money during the last harvest, which coincided with the clashes."
Many who fled had a nasty surprise when they came back to check up on their land.
"We fled our home in mid-August [2009] - two months before our maize crop was ready for harvest. When my father visited the farm in early March [2010], he found that it is good only for animal fodder," Yahya Ali al-Qadhi, 27, from Razih District in the south of the governorate, told IRIN.
Yahya and seven members of his family have been living in a tent in the Khaiwan area of neighbouring Amran Governorate.
"The farm had been our main source of livelihood for years. It used to give us three tons of maize a year. We used to eat half a ton… and sell the rest to cover other needs," Yahya said.
Yahya’s family is intending to return home but they are worried about how they will cope. "If we return…, we need an income until the next harvest," he said.
Rotting fruit
Khalid Abdullah al-Jabri, head of the Agriculture and Irrigation Office in Saada, told IRIN all Saada farmers had been affected by the fighting.
"Tens of thousands of farmers fled, leaving behind half-matured crops. Those who stayed… couldn't get their produce to market," he said.
Pomegranates, grapes and apples were on the point of rotting, he said, adding that many had no option but to bring them to the Saada camps for internally displaced persons.
Al-Jabri said 70 percent of Saada's population (estimated at 795,000 by the government's Central Statistical Organization) relied on farming for a living.
Fuel, water shortages
Furthermore, those who stayed, particularly in the southern and western parts of Saada, found it difficult to water to their crops because of the high price of diesel needed to operate pumps from artesian wells.
"The price of diesel jumped from YR35 [17 US cents] to YR150 [73 cents] per litre, resulting in much higher prices for pumped water," Saad al-Sayyaghi, a pomegranate farmer from Saada's Sehar District, told IRIN.
"Pomegranate farmers stopped watering their crops after the price of pumped water per hour rose from YR1,500 [$7.34] to YR4,000 [$20]," he said. Many petrol stations closed and trucks could not enter the governorate during the clashes (August 2009 to February 2010).
Farmers need help
Displaced farmers need all the help they can get, according to Ismail Moharram, head of the Agricultural Research and Guidance Authority, based in Dhamar Province, central Yemen.
"If they have some food to eat and some money to cover the cost of farming until the harvest, displaced farmers will think about coming home and cultivating their land," he said.
According to Muharram, the government is planning to give Saada farmers tractors at half price, and favourable loans so they can purchase them gradually by installments.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization said in a December 2009 report that farmers needed critical emergency seed support.
It said that an estimated two million people, including conflict-affected communities, refugees, and other vulnerable persons are likely to face increased food insecurity and will require targeted food assistance, estimated at about 100,000 tons during 2010.
ay/at/cb
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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