Ongoing conflict and civil insecurity remain a key determinant of food insecurity in Yemen. With more than half the population – 14.7 million people - in need of some form of humanitarian assistance and hundreds of thousand people displaced,  Yemen continues to be a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Over 4 million Yemenis are severely food insecure and about 8 million suffer from undernourishment.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is adversely impacting agricultural production and livelihoods. Protracted displacements and conflict have resulted in extensive crop and livestock losses and destroyed inputs that are needed to recover food production.

In the face of the crisis, the three Rome-based UN agencies, FAO, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have joined hands to support the Government of Yemen in addressing food security and building resilience among the most vulnerable communities of the country.

The three agencies, that signed yesterday a Letter of Understanding endorsed by the Government of Yemen, have committed to intensify their programming and actions in the country through common strategies and advocacy actions that target the food insecure and the most vulnerable groups of the population.

The initiative will improve the outreach of the three agencies to the rural people and the most marginalized populations of the country, in keeping with the development priorities of the Government of Yemen.

H.E. Farid Ahmed Saeed Mojaour, Yemen Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation welcomed the move, highlighting that the agreement will let the cooperation among the three agencies and the Government gain a new footing.

Under their respective mandates, the three agencies will collaborate with a common vision to address food insecurity on the basis of the “twin-track approach” to alleviating hunger, through (a) immediate food assistance, building resilience and providing social safety nets, and(b) joint initiatives aimed at eliminating the root causes of hunger and poverty with long-term support to agricultural development and smallholder farmers.