Supporting Family Farmers in Yemen Improving Food Production and Increasing Income
Walia with one of her daughters while they are working in the field.
FAO/Ahmed Al-Basha
05/02/2026
The crisis in Yemen has caused widespread disruptions across many aspects of life, including the agricultural sector, which is one of the country’s main sectors. Agriculture employs more than 50 percent of the workforce and livelihoods for around 70 percent of the population. However, it is also one of the most affected sectors that has seriously impacted food availability for local communities.
In response to this crisis, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO implemented the Emergency Agricultural and Nutrition Response Project, funded by the Central Emergency Response Fund CERF in Al-Misrakh and Al-Mokha districts of Taiz Governorate in south-west Yemen. The project aimed to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable and crisis-affected farming families by providing productive inputs and hands-on training in good agricultural practices and nutrition awareness.
Challenges and hardships
Climate change is severely affecting Yemen and has had a strong impact on the agricultural sector due to irregular rainfall, rising temperatures, and prolonged drought. These conditions have worsened the ongoing food crisis.
Walia Yahya, a farmer from Al-Aridah village in Bani Ali sub-district of Al-Misrakh, explains that farming is the best option to provide food and earn income for herself and her family. She says: “The lack of rainfall, water shortages, and the absence of water tanks greatly affected this year’s agricultural season and reduced crop production such as grains and olives.”
Walia, a mother of six daughters, adds:“Agriculture is our main source of income and food. It provides basic food for my family.” She continues: “Because of the high cost of seed, the low rainfall, the water shortages, and the lack of farming tools, we were no longer able to grow anything.”
Describing the situation before the project intervention, Walia says: “The pressure to provide enough food was increasing along with the impacts of climate change and the degradation of natural resources. There was no support to help us continue farming, and we could not afford expensive seeds. We were limited to growing maize and legumes.”
1. Al-Misrakh District in Taiz city. 2. Walia holding a metal plate with part of the produce she received through FAO support.
Improving livelihoods
The project aimed to improve the livelihoods of vulnerable and crisis-affected farming households in Taiz Governorate by providing diverse production inputs, cash assistance, and practical training on good agricultural and livestock practices as well as nutrition awareness. The project targeted 3,100 households in Al-Mokha and Al-Misrakh districts.
Walia explains:“The opportunity came when the FAO team visited the area, and I was selected as one of the beneficiaries. The project provided improved seeds, traditional farming tools, and training on better agricultural practices.”
She adds: “The support included seeds for five types of vegetables,s including tomatoes, onions, molokhia, okra, and hot peppers, along with hand-farming toolkits and YER 485,000 in cash assistance.”
She confirms:“This support improved our living and economic conditions. I now grow vegetables to feed my family and sell the surplus in the market.”
She also notes that the support helped increase production and diversify vegetable crops and provided a reliable source of food.
Walia currently grows okra, molokhi, onions, tomatoes, and peppers. She explains: “The money that was previously spent on buying seeds is now used to purchase food items such as sugar, rice, and wheat.”
Food security
Walia believes that the support changed her life for the better and made a real difference in her work and living conditions.
She hopes to receive additional support to provide a water tank for irrigation because farming requires reliable water to protect crops and increase production.
Nutritional and economic benefits
The project strengthened the ability of vulnerable farming households to use the distributed seeds to grow vegetable crops, restore their livelihoods, and improve food availability and access.
Expressing her happiness, Walia says: “I benefited nutritionally because vegetables that were previously missing from our meals became available and economically through selling surplus production.”
The FAO-implemented project focused on empowering households to improve food production and increase income, which contributes to food security and better living standards in rural communities. In short the project seeks to enable targeted families to face challenges and achieve sustainable food production and improved quality of life through direct support, training, and improved agricultural and livestock practices.