AGRICULTURE SECTOR ... PIONEERING SUCCESSES IN TWO DECADES

By Dirhem al-Sufyani
Translated by Ahmed Farhan

SANA'A, May 20(Saba) - Agriculture is one of the key productive
sectors in Yemen. About 54 percent of the manpower is engaged in
this vital sector, which produces roughly 17.6 percent of the Gross
Domestic Product (GDP).

Since the reunification of the country in 1990, the government has
paid more attention to improve this significant sector, on which
about 74 percent of the rural areas' inhabitants rely. It has
carried out a number of qualitative strategic projects in the basic
infrastructure area and institutional projects specialized in the
management and development of the natural resources and groundwater,
in addition to other projects to improve irrigation means, protect
environment, safeguard soil from drift and to encounter
desertification.

One of the distinctive projects that have been implemented in the
last two decades is the Groundwater and Soil Conservation Project
(GSCP) at a cost of over YR 1 billion. It aims to prompt farmers to
use modern irrigation means and rationed irrigation systems using
drip irrigation networks to reduce depletion of water.

Likewise, the Project of the Agricultural Cooperatives worth
$25,650,000, which is implemented in the eastern areas (Maifa'ah and
Shabwa) and the Rural Development Project for governorates of
(Shabwa, Abyan, Hadramout and Lahj) at a cost of $38,630,000, which
is intended for supporting small farmers in rural areas.

The implemented projects include also the Project of Self-assistance
Development for governorates of (Lahj, Abyan, Taiz, Ibb, Dalei and
Baidha'a) amounting to YR 541,800,000 and the second stage of GSCP
that covers 15 governorates at a cost of $ 35 million, which has
been extended by an additional grant of $15 million from World Bank
(WB) until 2011, as it is one of the significant strategic projects
the country depends on to face water scarcity and aridity.

The second stage of the Mareb Dam has been also carried out in 2003
- 2007 at a cost of $ 30 million.

Moreover, the government has accomplished the project of Seed
Multiplication and Agricultural Services (1998 - 2003), which costs
YR 460,000,000, the Project of Rural Development for Central
Highlands worth $ 26,400,000, the Rural Development Project in
Mahrah governorate amounting to $ 17,795,000, the Wadi Hadramout
Development Project amounting to $ 38,630,000, Irrigation
Development Project in governorates of Hodeidah and Lahj worth
$25,600,000 and the Project of Wadi Bana Conservation at a cost of
YR 210,000,000.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation has paid special
attention to the agricultural products' marketing and export as it
is the cornerstone of the agricultural development. It has
established more than 16 markets and centers for collecting the
agricultural products from different governorates, in addition to
building new centers to circulate agricultural marketing
information, thus prop up the infrastructure required to succeed the
marketing and export processes.

As a result of such efforts, the cultivated area with various cereal
crops, or fruits, or vegetables, or cash crops has been increased
from 899,424 hectares in 1991 to 1,307,000 hectares in 2009. The
agricultural production reached 5,000,220 tons in 2009 compared to
3,815,000 tons in 2004.

The production of cereals, which was 447,470 tons in 1991, raised to
around 674,488 tons in 2009. The fruits increased in the same period
from 316,000 tons to 988,679 tons, and the production of vegetables
lifted up from 641,000 tons to 1,090,470 tons, while the legumes
increased to 81,822 tons from 43,000 tons in 1991.

The cash crops have achieved high rates too. The cultivated area
with such crops widened from 53,000 hectares in 1991 to 86,943
hectares in 2009, raising the production from 27,700 tons up to
90,681 tons.

Enlarging the cultivated area and growing the various crops'
production were concurred with legislative, technical and
institutional development in the Plant Production Department. A unit
to control vegetable products' quality was founded to inspect the
governorates' markets to ensure the seeds' quality. Further, a
laboratory was outfitted to dissect the used seeds and the produced
crops, advance nurseries and to expand the usage of modern
irrigation networks.

That has stepped up the agricultural exports remarkably from YR 722
million in 1990 to roughly YR 45 billion in 2007. Fruits and coffee
have ranked first in the exports' list.

However, efforts are still made intensively to increase the
agricultural production volume and to expand the cultivated area via
the implementation of a number of related projects for protecting
plants, getting rid of poisoned pesticide and for safeguarding the
environment. In this regard, Yemen eliminated in 2004 from nearly
462 tons of expired pesticide and pollution materials accumulated in
40 sites since 1940s, and from then on Yemen became one of the
earliest Arab countries that have done so.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, through the General
Department of Plant Protection, has regulated the usage of
pesticides and managed to reduce the authorized pesticides from 1024
to 157 ones, and to decline Yemen's imports of pesticides to less
than 400 tons by the end of 2009 compared with 2100 tons in 2006.
The Ministry has also established plant quarantine stations,
according to the up-to-date international standard designs, in the
border outlets of Attiwal, al-Buq'a, Elb, Shahn, al-Wadie'ah and
harbors of Aden and Hodeidah at a cost of YR 157.5 million.

The General Department of Plant Protection has intensified its
supervisory procedures for pesticides usage through carrying out
periodic and unexpected tours of inspection at pesticides stores in
all over the governorates. Furthermore, it compiled a list of banned
pesticides in Yemen numbered about 349 ones.

A Pesticide Residual Effect Laboratory worth YR 50 million outfitted
with modern equipment has been established in Sana'a to trigger the
supervisory role in pesticides usage and to minimize the risk of
haphazard pesticides usage to public health and environment. The
laboratory examines the residual effects of pesticides on fruits and
vegetables as well.

Furthermore, a center for control and combat desert locust has been
instituted with state-of-the-art forecast system to monitor desert
locust and to protect the agricultural crops.

The Agriculture Ministry's investment program for 2009 contained
setting up plant quarantine stations in a number of harbors in
addition to upgrading the existing ones in the custom outlets at a
cost of YR 125 million. That aims to strengthen their role in
supervising the import and export of plants and agricultural crops.

The ministry has also increased its agricultural guidance activities
and carried out several agricultural programs in different
agricultural areas in the country to acquaint the farmers with the
new agricultural techniques and to assist in increasing the
productivity of each cultivated unit.

Under the administrative, financial and economic reform program, the
ministry adopted in 2008 a new regulation reconstruct three sectors,
which are agricultural production development, irrigation and land
reclamation, and agricultural services. Each sector includes
specialized departments in various areas of agriculture and services.

The significance of re-construction the agriculture ministry is in
propping up the efforts of improving the agricultural production
quantitatively and qualitatively and raising the annual growth rate
in the agricultural sector and its share in the GDP and the national
economy to enhance the food security.