Reem Al-Fadhli (South24) 

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)

Agricultural lands in Bates area, Khanfar district, Abyan governorate (South24, Abdelilah Omairan)

Abandoned food basket

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."

Livestock grazing near a farm in Bates area in Khanfar district, Abyan governorate (South24, Abdelilah Omairan)

Repercussions of wars

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."

Farmers situation

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.

Mosquite trees have spread on agricultural lands, and sand has crept into some lands of the Delta, which has led to the deterioration of the agricultural sector and the increasing difficulty of its advancement, farmers say.

Majed Al-Saadi, one of the farmers in the Khanfar Wadi al-Qarana area, spoke to "South24" about the difficulty of farming in the current situation, "I own a land where I grow bananas and papayas, but farming these days has become expensive because of the conditions the country is going through."

"The rise in diesel and labor prices, in addition to the poor financial return, causes a lack of demand and a decrease in the prices of banana fruits in return for the high cost of producing and irrigating them, as they consume a lot of water," Al-Saadi added.

Banana trees on a farm in the Bates area of Khanfar district, Abyan governorate (South24, Abdelilah Omairan)

Al-Saadi estimated the total monthly production at about 10 to 15 tons, noting that "what is left for farmers is nothing but crumbs, as its value goes mostly from the cost of production to the hands of the workers on the farms and the agricultural requirements of fertilizers and other needs."

For his part, Ali Al-Fadhli, a former farmer and owner of one of the farms in the Al-Musaimir area of Zinjibar District, told "South24" that the main reason he left agriculture was "the wars that took place in the governorate, in addition to the work cost which has become more than the income from agriculture."

Al-Fadhli pointed out that agriculture "was somewhat easy, but when the price of fuel was raised, this was the blow that made agriculture lose its economic viability." He added, "We used to buy a diesel barrel for 2000 riyals, then it became 7000, then 10,000 and 20,000, until then it reached 40,000."

"With the recent war against the Houthis, its price exceeded 100,000, which is why agriculture became useless, and that is why we abandoned farming at that time," he continues.

Al-Fadhli pointed out that "after al-Qaeda war in 2012, farmers were compensated and paid one third of the compensation amount, and the Houthi war broke out and the remaining two thirds were not paid to the farmers."

Regarding the farmers’ need and demands today, Al-Fadhli said, “Agriculture in South needs a real, organized project that is concerned with organizing and properly supporting agricultural work, a project that makes farmers the backbone of its management, according to strategic systems and principles that make the interest of the farmer and the future of agriculture to fulfill its function of growth and social development.”

System breakdown

In the 1940s, Abyan witnessed the establishment of a distinguished agricultural irrigation network, the first of its kind in the region. The irrigation network that relies on torrential water through organized channels contributed to increasing agricultural production, especially the production of long-staple cotton, which distinguished the governorate in its production.

Because of the difficult conditions in the governorate and the recent major climatic changes, irrigation networks have collapsed, including bridges, dams and canals.

Speaking to "South24" about the conditions of the irrigation networks in the governorate, the director of the irrigation unit, Eng. Abdullah Tabiq, said that "Abyan governorate is exposed to many torrential torrents, due to the effect of frequent tropical depressions, the last of which happened in the autumn season, October 9, 2021."

Tabiq indicated that "the rise in the water level in the dam body reached about 7 metres, part of which was absorbed into the network according to the carrying capacity of each channel, despite the lack of financial allocations to maintain the network."

Tabiq went on to talk about the network, "since it was established during the British presence in South, no maintenance has been carried out until this time. Therefore, it is at risk of collapsing if it is not maintained urgently."

He added, "This is all about the higher Delta network. As for the lower Delta in Wadi Bena, it is unfortunately traditional works of Aqoum (2) diversionary soil that diverts water to farmers' lands for irrigation, and as soon as the water level increases, it is diverted and the water reaches the sea without the farmers lands being irrigated."

Tabiq said that they sent letters to the ministry "with the necessity of making concrete fenders, and a technical team has been sent down to work and study the situation, but until now no funding has been calculated for the implementation of the project."

Sector future

Regarding the future of this sector, the farmers told "South24" that their farms will continue to produce crops, regardless of the difficulties, expressing their ambition to upgrade the sector if the necessary government support is provided.

These farmers appealed to the Yemeni government to pay attention to Abyan, the "food basket of South". The director of the irrigation unit, Eng. Abdullah Tabiq, demanded the maintenance and modernization of the irrigation system in the governorate, and to avoid its collapse. 

Reem Al-Fadhli

Journalist and editor at South24 Center for News and Studies

Photo: A young farmer holds a papaya in the Al-Koud area, Abyan governorate (South24, Abdelilah Omairan)

(1) Gabonese fenders: They are used as flood water fenders to protect the land from sabotaging strong torrents. These Gabonese fenders work in valleys to repel the torrential water from the villages adjacent to the valleys to protect them. It is made of iron nets that are filled with stones, or heavy cloth bags and filled with sand.

(2) Aqoum: a piece of land with large outcrops, in which torrents gather in order to be directed or change the course of the torrents to another direction. Dams are located in areas that do not contain dams, such as Aqmah (Al-Diw) and Aqmah (Al-Sada), which are areas between the districts of Zinjibar and Jaar.