The EU, FAO and local authorities in Hadhramaut Join efforts to rehabilitate necessary water infrastructure in Hajar district after heavy floods in Yemen.

29 September 2020, Sana’a - After torrential floods affected much of Yemen, FAO and local partners are committed to rehabilitating critical water infrastructure to ensure that rural farmers’ livelihoods are secured. The activity is part of the project Enhance Households and Community Resilience in Yemen, funded by the European Union. The project aims at enhancing household and community resilience in rural farming communities.

 “Agriculture-dependent communities are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity because of unfavorable natural conditions, such as flooding, water scarcity and climate change. The rehabilitation of water management infrastructure will significantly contribute towards reducing pressure on Yemen’s limited land and water,” said Hans Grundberg, Ambassador of the European Union to Yemen. In addition to optimising the productivity of land and water assets in agriculture, the rehabilitation and construction work will also provide over 650 job opportunities for the most vulnerable community members through a Cash for Work programme.

“It is very encouraging to see local authorities working hand in hand with FAO and contributing to the restoration of critical infrastructure, as we see in Hajr district,” said Dr Hussein Gadain, FAO Representative in Yemen. "We are still dealing with the consequences of last month’s flooding,” said Gadain, “we still require further support for rehabilitating water infrastructure, without it there will be dire implications for Yemen’s farmers, agriculture sector and greater food security.”

The badly-needed restoration and construction work comes on the heels of catastrophic flooding which hit Yemen last month. Indeed, heavy rains and their resulting floods destroyed agricultural infrastructure, fields and homes, washing away animals and crops, threatening local food security. Torrential rainfall covered most of the country last month, especially the inland mountainous areas around Sana’a city. The Ministry of Public Health and Population in Sana’a reported that 131 people had died and 125 had been injured across northern governorates, and 106 homes, and private and public facilities had been destroyed, and 156 damaged.

“If we do not adequately prepare farmers for the coming season, we will see serious knock-on effects such as low yields, and decreased production and access to food,” said Gadain in reference to the prospect of further heavy rains during the winter months. “We expect people designated as IPC 3 (crisis) to slide into IPC 4 (emergency), increasing the number of those in need of food assistance in an environment where humanitarian funding is shrinking or non-existent.”

“Not rehabilitating damaged water infrastructure to restore production and manage flooding will guarantee an even larger disaster next year during the rainy season,” said Dr Walid Saleh, Chief Technical Advisor, Water and Natural Resources Management Programme for FAO Yemen. “According to Yemeni authorities, more than USD 50 million in damages were sustained to irrigation canals, water storage dams and other infrastructure central to controlling water flow. This figure isn’t even taking into account damage to agricultural land, crops, or lost livestock.”

Further, flooding has brought on optimal breeding conditions for desert locusts that are currently in their breeding season, with infestations and swarms being reported around the country, decimating crops in their path.

In 2020, Yemen is still the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. The country has become increasingly unstable since the conflict escalated dramatically in mid-March 2015, severely disrupting the economy, including the agriculture sector, collapsing essential services, and exhausting coping mechanisms. Weather and climate-related shocks, such as flooding, are exacerbated by COVID-19 restrictions and widespread food insecurity brought on by the country’s conflict and decimated economy.