Agriculture sector interventions are suitable for the current situations due to farmers’ dire need for food for their families and the need to protect the land and soil from erosion caused by flash floods. PWP accorded the agricultural sector high priority, especially so under the current circumstances in Yemen, because it believes that such interventions will improve food production patterns at the community level and help improve the food security for farmers and their families.

Implemented projects have had a tangible impacts on the day-to-day lives of farmers. Interventions by PWP have contributed to increasing irrigated areas and built protection infrastructure to protect agricultural land from erosion caused by the flash floods and prevent desertification. Under the YECRP, financed by the World Bank in partnership with UNDP and other available finances such as those from the Islamic Bank for Development, PWP succeeded in implementing economically feasible agricultural land and irrigation subprojects with quick returns contributing to reducing the harmful impacts of the humanitarian crises on farmers. By implementing rainwater harvesting reservoirs and agricultural land protection subprojects, the aim is to improve the living conditions of farmers and generation of sustainable livelihoods.

Indicators

PWP has accorded priority to the improvement of natural resources management to contribute to poverty reduction efforts and the creations of work opportunities in rural areas.
As of the end of December 2021, more than 55,000 hectares had been targeted through 850 projects in the field of agricultural land protection and the rehabilitation of flood water distribution channels, which benefited more than 2 million beneficiaries and provided 1.4 million working days.

Provision of Food

Agriculture land protection and increased agriculture production were some of the most significant economically and socially feasible interventions. Subprojects implemented in this sector contributed to the protection of land and homes from torrents and floods and protection of agricultural land from erosion. This has led to the expansion of irrigated areas and increased agriculture production Beneficiaries attach high importance to these interventions, which have contributed to improved food security, protection of soil from erosion and homes from flash floods and torrents.

Water is a major challenge facing agriculture in Yemen, where the majority of farmers rely on rainfed agriculture, especially in the remote rural areas of the country. PWP has worked to improve the situation by providing sustainable sources of water. Rain-water harvesting subprojects provide farmers with a sustainable source of water leading to increased agriculture protection. This translates into improvement of living conditions for many households who depend on subsentence farming. Agricultural land protection subprojects, meanwhile, maximize benefits from the otherwise wasted rain-water flooding, expand irrigated areas, protection of agricultural land from shrinking due to soil erosion caused by flash floods and spates, and consequently provide protection for farmers from heavy annual losses during the rainy season.

PWP is well-aware that the development of the agricultural sector means better livelihoods for tens of thousands of households. The majority of Yemeni population live in rural areas, and attention to the agricultural sector means creation of many work opportunities for labor in the countryside. In addition, it contributes to the food security situation. As a result, the development of the agriculture sector, by implementing subprojects that promote development of agricultural production, would produce many desirable impacts on more than one level. Recognizing this, PWP has expanded its interventions in the agriculture and irrigation sector out of the belief that this sector plays a vital role in achieving food security, poverty reduction, and creation of work opportunities for labor in rural areas. These underlies the priority given by PWP to the improvement of natural resources management in general.