Abyan: Neglected Agricultural Potential and Struggle for Crops

عربي

Abyan governorate in South Yemen, is one of the most diverse agricultural producing governorates in the country. This governorate is characterized by its moderate climate and fertile soil. Abyan is famous for its 15 valleys, as well as the torrents that descend from different regions of the country and pass through them to drain into the waters of the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. (1)

The arable areas in the governorate, which have an estimated area of 21,489 km², are divided into three, the first of which is the coastal areas which includes (Abyan Delta, Ahur Delta, Yarames), which constitute the largest agricultural areas of the governorate in terms of area. Then come the mid-rise areas; It includes the areas of (Lauder, Mudiyah, Al-Mahfad, Sibah, Sawad, Rasd), and it ranks second in terms of agricultural area. While the mountainous areas (Jaishan, Damman) come in third place in terms of agricultural area. (2)

Abyan produces many diverse agricultural crops, which constitute 5% of the agricultural production in Yemen (3). Cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables, as well as cotton and coffee, are the most important crops produced by the governorate. The total number of production of these crops increased between 2004 and 2009, reaching 228,141 tons. (4)

Qat, which is used by some, is also grown in a minority in the governorate.

Despite all these capabilities that Abyan has, according to officials in the agricultural sector in the governorate, it suffers from neglect.

The director of the Governorate's Agriculture and Irrigation Office, Fadel Hussein Al-Haythami, told "South24" that "Despite its ability to raise the level of the country's economic income significantly, the neglect and indifference to this jewel was present from every government that took turn running the country."

Al-Haythami pointed out that, "Over the years, the agricultural sector in Abyan has been a source of income for the majority of citizens, as 70% of the governorate's population depends on agriculture for their livelihood."

He continued, "One of the things that most affected the performance of the agricultural sector in Abyan is the cessation of government support for farmers, especially in the field of agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, white loans, and pest control on the agricultural or animal side."

Regarding the state of the agricultural sector in Abyan today, and the consequences of the wars and military conflicts that the governorate experienced, Al-Haythami pointed out that “the war of al-Qaeda [a war waged by pro-government forces against Ansar al-Sharia – al-Qaeda’s branch in Yemen in 2012] and the Houthi war destroyed the infrastructure of agricultural lands, and caused a significant decline in the performance of the agricultural sector in Abyan.

Regarding the violations of agricultural lands in Abyan, Al-Haythami said that they "started after the aforementioned recent conflicts as a result of the state's weakness, security in particular, and indifferences on the part of everyone."

Al-Haythami explained that the lack of flood waters for long periods of time and not reaching some agricultural lands "led to desertification and made them vulnerable to exploitation by landowners and turned them into residential lands."

Regarding the role of organizations, Al-Haythami said that most of the work on the agricultural side “depends on what the organizations provide in all aspects of reforms, including repairs, reconstruction Gabonese fenders (1), seed support, animal vaccination, and rehabilitation and training courses in the animal and plant fields.”

Speaking to "South24", the director of the Al-Koud Center for Agricultural Studies and Research, Dr. Mohammad Al-Khasha, said, "Since 2011, the cotton production farms in the governorate have completely stopped working."

Al-Khasha’a referred to the activity of Al-Koud Center, “as it kept preserving different seeds of the long-staple cotton varieties.”

He continued, "We maintain the purity of the seed by planting cotton in specific areas that do not exceed 3-4 feddans each season and for each variety. An area has been allocated for long-staple cotton in the center's farm in Al-Koud, while the medium cotton is grown on a farm in Lahj."

Due to the high prices of diesel fuel as well as the high rent of agricultural machinery used to plow the land, many farmers have stopped practicing their activities due to their inability to keep pace with all this, in addition to the absence of government attention and support.