February 24, 2023 - February 27, 2023 Seyoun, Hadramawt

Seyoun –A three-day workshop on mitigation measures to reduce the harmful impact of flash floods on cereal crop production in Yemen concluded on Monday, February 27, in Seyoun, Hadramawt.

As part of the Rethinking Yemen’s Economy (RYE) Initiative, the workshop, facilitated by the Sana’a Center, brought together government and non-governmental stakeholders from the governorates of Sana’a, Aden, Marib, Taiz, Hadramawt, Al-Mahra and Lahj.

Among the attendees were heads of agricultural offices from the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation, farmers, civil society representatives as well as members of agricultural cooperatives, the civil defense, and private sector actors active in the agricultural sector. Participants discussed the impact of flash floods on cereal crop productivity and food security in Yemen and explored mitigation and adaptation measures to tackle the impact of flooding on cereal production. They also identified practical policy recommendations, in both the short- and medium-term, taking into account the country’s current political constraints.

Yasmeen Al-Eryani, the Sana’a Center’s Co-Executive Director for Knowledge Production, said that challenges facing the agriculture sector have been compounded over the past decade by climate change and political instability. “The sector suffered from the weakening of institutions and the reduction in development projects as international aid was primarily redirected to emergency relief since 2015,” she observed, noting how agriculture remains the main source of livelihood for over 70 percent of Yemen’s population. “It is crucial,” she added, “to revitalize the sector and improve economic prospects for rural women and men across the country.”

Recommendations from the workshop will form part of a policy brief prepared by the RYE initiative.

The Rethinking Yemen’s Economy (RYE) initiative aims to contribute to and support the advancement toward inclusive and sustainable development and peace by seeking the inclusive engagement of Yemenis in economic peacebuilding and an improved understanding of crucial policy areas related to economic peacebuilding and development in Yemen. The RYE initiative is implemented by DeepRoot Consulting, the Sana’a Center for Strategic Studies, and CARPO – Center for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient.

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It is funded by the European Union and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Yemen.