FAO participated in the Yemen High-Level Pledging Conference, held on Tuesday 3 April in the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

UN Secretary General António Guterres, who opened the pledging event, praised the “remarkable success of international solidarity” after donors pledged USD 2 billion to help the millions of Yemenis in need of humanitarian assistance. He also voiced that aid alone would not put an end to the conflict and that a political solution had to be found for Yemen.

FAO’s Director of Resource Mobilization Gustavo Gonzalez delivered a statement on behalf of the Organization and called on all parties to the conflict to ensure civilians’ safe access to food and the means to produce food. He also expressed alarm on the threat of famine in the country and urged member countries to continue their support to the important work of FAO on behalf of the people of Yemen.

Statement by FAO:

Secretary-General. Vice-President Maurer, Minister Lövin. Excellencies. Ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you for the opportunity to address you today on behalf of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Let me just start by reminding you of the 1977 Protocols Additional to the Geneva Convention which explicitly proscribes the targeting and intentional destruction not just of food, but of the agricultural areas used for the production of food, of livestock, of drinking water supplies and of irrigation works.

FAO calls on all parties to the conflict to ensure civilians have safe access to food and the means to produce food.

FAO shares the alarm already expressed about the deteriorating situation in Yemen and the looming threat of famine facing 7 million people. It is simply unacceptable that in the twenty-first century, anyone, never mind 7 million people, should face starvation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

75% of Yemen’s people live in rural areas and depend on some form of agriculture for their survival, whether fishing, livestock rearing or crop and vegetable farming.

And the reality is that the volume of food required in Yemen is far greater than external actors can provide.

Twin-tracking humanitarian assistance with livelihoods support is critical to save millions of Yemeni lives.

We thank our partners for their valuable support in building resilience and preserving critical assets in the midst of a conflict.

FAO is asking today for $58 million – just a fraction of the almost $3 billion requested under the Response Plan. With this, we can make a real difference in the availability of nutritious food and of cash for communities suffering severe hunger.

For example, a recent programme to vaccinate, treat and provide feed to livestock saw a 20 percent increase in the amount of meat and milk available for increasingly malnourished families.

Volatile food and commodity prices, drought and a sharp drop in remittances pushing more people into poverty and hunger, FAO’s support for rural livelihoods and local food systems is even more vital than ever.

Excellencies,

Should famine take place in Yemen, it will be a collective failure – and we must all bear the responsibility. Time is fast running out.

We urge you to continue to support us in this critical work.

Thank you.