Japan supports Qat-affected people with over $ 2.5 mln

SANA'A, April 19 (Saba) - Japan granted Yemen on Monday with $ 2,780,000 to support the people affected by cultivating and chewing Qat.

Under the agreement signed in Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation,
the Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) grants the aforesaid amount to support the
activities
of the Yemeni Women Union (YWU) aiming at establishing projects for supporting the
urban and rural families affected by the cultivation of Qat.
The projects, which are to be carried out under the supervision of the World Bank
(WB), would also provide alternative opportunities for these people to encourage
them to
curb Qat cultivation.
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi said that
involving the YWU in the efforts of the government's system, which targets to
combat the
dealing and cultivating of Qat comes from the government's directions.
The directions of the government aim to specify a wider area from the women
participation in Yemen for having the ability and capability to participate in the
development
process in different fields such as the economic and developmental one.
It is worth to mention that Qat planting in Yemen increases yearly at an average of
4,000 to 6,000 hectares, using about 30 percent of the water resources allotted to
agriculture.
The production and consumption of Qat have increased during the last years. Qat
competes with many food crops, particularly the cash crops such as coffee and
cotton.
According to agricultural census data, Yemen's production of Qat rose from 118,207
tons of the total planted lands estimated to 122,843 hectares in 2004 to reach
165,668
tons from 146,810 hectares at the end of 2008.
FJ/AF