Deputy Director-General Programme, Dan Gustafson represented FAO at the Yemen High-Level Pledging Conference held in Geneva on 26 February 2019, along with FAO Representative in Yemen, Salah El Hajj Hassan, and the Geneva Liaison Office Director, Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett. The event organized by the United Nations and the Governments of Sweden and Switzerland aimed to garner support for the humanitarian response in Yemen and alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people. The High-Level Pledging Event for the Humanitarian Crisis in Yemen brought together representatives of 80 Member States, and International Organizations, UN Agencies, NGOs and Civil Society to raise funding to meet the humanitarian needs of people affected by the conflict.

In his statement, DDG Gustafson made a strong plea for bringing the conflict to an end and supporting agricultural production as the only durable solution to bring levels of malnutrition down in the country. Acknowledging the critical need for food assistance in the short term, DDG Gustafson said: “Agriculture – the production of cereals, vegetables, dairy, meat, fish […] is how we can feed people in the short term while preparing for future recovery and building resilient livelihoods.”

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world. An estimated 80 per cent of the population – 24 million people – require some form of humanitarian or protection assistance, including 14.3 million who are in acute need. According to the latest Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) analysis over 20 million people in Yemen are severely food insecure—IPC Phase 3 or worse and three million Yemenis are acutely malnourished. Humanitarian programmes last year scaled up to reach 8 million people with direct assistance per month, up from 3.5 million in 2017, making Yemen the largest humanitarian operation in the world.

Donors pledged a total of USD 2.6 billion towards the USD 4.2 billion 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan that is aiming to assist over 24 million people in Yemen.

FAO statement:

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for inviting FAO to participate at this event. And for recognizing the importance of agriculture in addressing hunger in crises.

The levels of hunger in Yemen today are simply staggering. Ultimately peace is the only solution. We are here to support the people of Yemen to fight hunger today, tomorrow and for the future.

Most of us see only the urban dimension of conflict and overlook the huge impact violence has on rural areas. Like damage to vital food production infrastructure and services, displacement of farmers from their fields, herders from their animals, fishers from their access to the sea.

But these are the realities in Yemen today, where agriculture is not just the main source of livelihood for up to 70 percent of the population, but represents one of the remaining lifelines for people in remote parts of the country or areas where humanitarian access is, at best, intermittent.

Yes, even before the crisis, most of Yemen’s food needs were met through imports. Yet local production accounted for about one-quarter of food consumed in the country. This production is falling as farmers struggle to buy seeds, livestock owners lack feed and veterinary services. We absolutely cannot afford any further drop in food production, when more than 20 million people would be severely food insecure without humanitarian food assistance. 

The reality is that importing huge quantities of food will never be the only solution to the shocking scale of hunger in Yemen. Yes, food aid is absolutely critical! We need to get food on people’s plates now!

But so is livelihoods support! Agriculture – the production of cereals, vegetables, dairy, meat, fish – this is how we can feed people in the short term while preparing for future recovery and building resilient livelihoods.

In the last year, FAO has significantly scaled up its life and livelihood saving interventions in Yemen, reaching more than 3 million vulnerable people. Thanks to your support, seeds provided to farmers have resulted in tens of thousands of tonnes of cereals and vegetables being produced and available for farmers and their communities. More fish, dairy and meat is available thanks to the provision of fishing equipment, livestock feed, dairy processing equipment and animal health campaigns that reached 2.4 million animals.

In other words, more nutritious food is on people’s plates and in local markets thanks to our partnership with many of you. In 2019, we know that with your support we can do even more.

And we must do even more. Especially for communities in remote or hard to access areas. For them, just one farming, fishing or livestock package can be enough to keep their family fed for a year.

Restoring and reinforcing livelihoods can have other positive outcomes. It can provide a sense of normalcy to beleaguered communities. It can contribute to building and sustaining peace for the future. It can empower women.

At FAO we have seen this from our own experience. Access to and use of land and water are major factors behind persistent local-level violence in Yemen. Our work over the last few years in setting up and supporting water users’ associations has contributed to resolving a 17 year-long conflict over Al Malaka dam. And women played a central role in this, as FAO actively placed them at the centre of conflict resolution, supporting them to taken on leadership roles in their communities. The result: less violence, increased production and more viable livelihoods.  

And that is the ultimate goal in Yemen – a food secure, stable and prosperous future for all its people.

We must keep that in mind.

Thank you