Sanaa: In recent years, the agricultural sector in Yemen has experienced steady growth, transforming into a vital lever for the national economy. This is due to its contribution to absorbing the workforce, reducing unemployment, enhancing livelihood stability, and lowering the import bill for agricultural products. According to Yemen News Agency, despite the challenges faced by this sector as a result of the ongoing aggression and blockade, it has managed to remain resilient and achieve tangible growth in cultivated areas and production quantities. This indicator reflects the effectiveness of agricultural policies and community awareness regarding the importance of agriculture for food security. In this context, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources for the Plant Production Sector, Dr. Ibrahim al-Saraji, explained to the Yemen News Agency (Saba) that grain production quantities in Yemen rose by 21% and legumes by 31% during the period from 2015 to 2025. This confirms the improv ement in production efficiency despite the challenges. He pointed out that wheat cultivation has witnessed a noticeable expansion, particularly in al-Jawf governorate, which has turned into a major hub for wheat production. The cultivated area during the last season reached approximately 18,000 hectares, with growing productivity and support for horizontal and vertical expansion programs, reflecting a serious direction toward narrowing the import gap and boosting food security. Dr. Al-Saraji confirmed that maize (corn) has become one of the promising crops, with its cultivated area reaching about 40,000 hectares and production nearing 120,000 tons. Meanwhile, the fodder (animal feed) gap remains large, with imports exceeding 650,000 tons annually, highlighting the importance of expanding this crop. He mentioned that Yemen witnessed, for the first time, the introduction of soybean cultivation as a strategic crop, moving from the phase of limited trials to actual expansion. The cultivated area in some regions, such as Bajil, reached 1,350 hectares, with an expected production of up to 3,200 tons involving more than 300 farmers. This marks a significant step toward localizing this crop and reducing the import bill, which exceeds 267,000 tons annually. Deputy Minister Al-Saraji attributed these successes to the directives of the wise leadership, which urged relevant authorities and the community to turn toward agriculture, especially strategic crops like grains, wheat, and legumes, and to exploit natural resources. This is alongside the role of the Government of Change and Construction and its programs in facilitating the provision of inputs and boosting production to contribute to achieving self-sufficiency and liberation from economic dependency. He emphasized that what has been achieved in the plant production sector represents a model of resilience and willpower, where challenges were turned into opportunities. The sector was able to achieve tangible growth despite being targeted and blockaded. He noted that the continuation of this approach will lead Yemen toward achieving food sovereignty and building a sustainable agricultural economy. The livestock sector in Yemen during the 2015-2025 period witnessed remarkable development and rapid growth despite challenges and the blockade. This sector has transformed into a national strategic pillar for rebuilding food sovereignty in the country. The Deputy Minister for the Livestock Sector at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources, Dr. Abdulraouf Al-Shaukani, explained that as a result of the breeders' resilience and state interventions, the livestock sector has turned into a promising arena experiencing rapid growth, nearing self-sufficiency in several animal products. He pointed out that this field witnessed an important institutional transformation with the formation of the Government of Change and Construction. An independent livestock sector was established after previously being scattered across separate administrations, which contributed to unif ying policies, enhancing planning and implementation efficiency, and expanding development and extension programs. Deputy Minister Al-Shaukani noted that livestock is one of the most important pillars of the agricultural economy in Yemen, providing animal protein from meat, milk, and eggs, alongside other products such as hides, wool, and honey. All of these constitute a primary source of income for millions of Yemenis, especially in rural areas. According to the 2023 Agricultural Statistics Book, Yemen possesses more than 10.7 million head of sheep, 10.3 million goats, nearly 2 million head of cattle, and 462,000 camels. The Deputy Minister anticipated a significant increase in livestock numbers in the country due to a series of strategic procedures and decisions. Foremost among these is the decision to halt the import of cattle from the Horn of Africa, which encouraged local production. This is in addition to intensifying awareness campaigns about the dangers of slaughtering female and young livestock-fact ors that directly helped increase livestock, protect its productive assets, and contribute to its sustainable growth. In the poultry sector, the Deputy Minister for the Livestock Sector confirmed that white meat (poultry) production reached approximately 200,000 tons in 2025, while table egg production reached about 1.5 billion eggs, with more than 6,000 poultry facilities and farms in existence. He noted that this sector has become the backbone of food security in Yemen. He reported that the poultry sector has seen a qualitative leap in recent years, as the local product managed to establish its presence in the market and outperform imports. This was especially true after the decision to halt the importation of frozen poultry in 2025, which contributed to reducing the import bill by about $86 million, restarting more than 1,500 farms, and marketing thousands of tons of local poultry. Dr. Al-Shaukani pointed out that government efforts resulted in restoring the activity of about 1,200 production hangars, re starting five major slaughterhouses, establishing four new automated slaughterhouses, and restarting three hatcheries. This is in addition to operating more than eight feed manufacturing and processing facilities, raising the storage capacity of cold storage facilities to 20 million chickens, and expanding the poultry freezing project, which successfully marketed more than 5 million chickens. Regarding the dairy sector, Al-Shaukani confirmed that Yemen has witnessed a remarkable transformation within the national strategy for localizing the milk and dairy derivatives industry. This strategy practically launched in mid-2023, aiming to build an integrated production system that reduces reliance on imports and enhances self-sufficiency. He reported that total investments directed toward the dairy value chain reached approximately 8.8 billion riyals, covering infrastructure development, production support, reinforcing veterinary services, and expanding collection and processing capacities, particularly in the Ti hama regions. In the field of beekeeping and honey production, the Ministry of Agriculture was keen to implement a series of programs and activities that enhance the role of this sector in food security and economic support. These included training 2,000 beneficiaries in beekeeping and honey production, and distributing 30,000 beehives to the trainees. Additionally, four facilities for honey extraction and wax production were established, along with four bee breeding centers. According to Deputy Minister Al-Shaukani, these interventions contributed to achieving tangible results, most notably a 4.93% decrease in the import bill, saving about $19 million in foreign currency annually-an important step toward replacing imported goods with local products. Statistical data confirmed that milk production experienced a qualitative leap, rising from 16,470 liters per day before the implementation of the strategy to about 157,000 liters per day by the end of 2025. This reflects significant growth in production capaci ty within a short period. The Deputy Minister for the Livestock Sector noted that the infrastructure of the value chain witnessed remarkable development through the establishment of milk collection centers, the supply of processing equipment, and the creation of a concentrated feed factory that relies on local inputs. This is alongside the establishment of a model farm in Tihama with a capacity reaching up to 3,000 cows annually. Logistical and veterinary services were also strengthened by providing 1,100 milk collection containers, 27 refrigerated transport vehicles, and establishing 10 veterinary clinics. This was accompanied by training technical personnel and qualifying cooperative societies to enhance production sustainability and improve quality. The program also contributed to empowering the local community, as loans were provided to 1,500 beneficiaries, including wounded individuals and families of martyrs, providing them with productive cows. This helped integrate them into the production process an d improve their income sources. Consequently, the number of milk producers rose from 1,218 to more than 14,000 producers within two and a half years, while the total number of beneficiaries exceeded 104,000 people, reflecting a massive expansion in the production base. Deputy Minister Al-Shaukani reported that this value chain achieved direct economic returns, with the value of supplied milk reaching approximately 1.9 billion riyals monthly, with an average monthly income for the producer reaching 135,000 riyals. Meanwhile, total circulating liquidity exceeded 36 billion riyals during the past period. He explained that despite these achievements, the gap still exists, as the market relies on imports for 69% of its needs, given an annual requirement estimated at about 1.37 million tons of milk and dairy derivatives, which necessitates expanding production in the coming phase. Within the framework of developing livestock production, Al-Shaukani explained that dairy cow empowerment projects were implemented fo r about 980 beneficiaries. Furthermore, the utilization of agricultural crop residues as fodder was improved, alongside the introduction of modern technologies in the field of animal feed. The Ministry also continues to implement animal health programs through vaccination campaigns, veterinary surveys, epidemiological surveillance, staff training, and the distribution of veterinary kits in rural areas. This is in addition to distributing veterinary medicines from the livestock sector to 13 governorates to be distributed to mobile clinics in model cooperatives, in cooperation with the Agricultural Cooperative Union. In terms of genetic improvement, work is underway to develop local breeds through
Sunday, August 16, 2026